Box Score
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – Otterbein University women's basketball came up short in a road loss Wednesday evening, falling 88-79 at league-leading John Carroll University in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) action.
The Cardinals (6-10, 2-7 OAC) held a slim 12-11 lead after six minutes of action, but the host Blue Streaks (13-1, 8-1 OAC) out-scored Otterbein 13-6 spanning the next five minutes to open a marginal 24-18 advantage.
Otterbein stayed close, riding the hot hand of sophomore Amariah Huck and getting a buzzer-beating layup from point guard Chelsea Reed to end the half down just four, at 43-39. Huck tallied 17 points in the opening period.
JCU opened strong in the second half, using a 9-2 run to take a 51-41 advantage and force Otterbein head coach Connie Richardson to burn a timeout.
The Cardinals later were faced with a 15-point deficit before ultimately clawing back, getting to within 65-61 after freshman Cheyenne Hartley-Carr nailed a three-pointer at the 8:21 mark.
John Carroll regained control moments later, extending its lead back to double digits, 71-61, before hanging on down the stretch for victory.
Huck was dominant throughout, scoring a new career-high 33 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the field. She also added a career-high 15 rebounds to post her third double-double of the season.
Tabatha Piper added her eighth double-double of the year with a 16-point, 11-rebound effort while Hartley-Carr contributed a season-best 12 points off the bench.
OAC leading-scorer Missy Spahar poured in 31 points lead John Carroll while four other Blue Streaks scored in double figures. The victory over Otterbein was the first in the last six tries for JCU.
The Cardinals finished with a better shooting percentage and won the rebounding battle, 43-33, but committed more than twice as many turnovers at 23-10. Both sides combined to shoot just 10 of 38 from beyond the arc.
Otterbein will stay on the road to finish out the week, traveling to Muskingum University Saturday afternoon for a 3 p.m. tip. The Muskies claimed a 72-64 victory in Westerville earlier this season.
