Box Score
WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Otterbein University women's basketball came up short during Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) action Thursday evening, falling 72-57 to No. 24-ranked Ohio Northern University inside the Rike Center.
Ohio Northern (16-4, 9-4 OAC) opened the game on a 10-2 run, but the Cardinals got back-to-back buckets from Mary Corbett and Taylor Pifher to get within 10-6.
Otterbein (7-13, 3-10 OAC) trailed 16-9 by the 12:00 mark, and a six-minute scoring draught by the Cardinals allowed the visitors to open a 23-9 advantage later in the period.
ONU took a 32-18 lead into halftime, shooting 43.3 percent from the floor over the opening frame while limiting the Cardinals to a 25 percent output.
The Cards fought hard to begin the second half, trimming the deficit to just seven, at 43-36, after a baseline jumper from freshman Taylor Pifher at the 13:10 mark.
Ohio Northern quickly responded with a 13-2 run spanning the next three minutes, taking an 18-point 56-38 cushion past the midway point of the half.
Otterbein would get the lead back down to nine on two separate occasions, but the hill would be too steep as Northern left victorious.
Jordan Kimes led the Polar Bears with a dominant performance down low, dropping 33 points on 16-of-21 shooting to lead all scorers. No other ONU player had more than eight points.
Junior forward Tabatha Piper paced three Cardinals in double figures, scoring 12 points to go along with five rebounds.
Northern finished with a 42-24 rebounding advantage and out-scored the Cardinals 40-12 in the paint. Both sides combined to shoot 5 of 27 from long distance.
Otterbein finishes out the week on the road, traveling to play the University of Mount Union Saturday at 3 p.m. in Alliance. The Cardinals took the first meeting with the Purple Raiders earlier this season, winning 58-54 at home.
