Box Score WESTERVILLE, Ohio - The Otterbein University women's basketball team opened the 2015-16 season with an 82-66 win over Ohio Wesleyan on Monday night inside the Rike Center.
The first quarter featured the initial time either team had played under the new NCAA rule of four, 10-minute periods. Otterbein did not seem to be phased by the new game format, jumping out to a 17-10 lead after back-to-back scores by senior
Amariah Huck and sophomore guard
Abby Miduri prompted an OWU timeout.
The Cardinals finished the opening period with a 24-14 lead, forcing seven turnovers by the Bishops. Otterbein surrendered the first two baskets of the second period to OWU before Miduri connected on a pair of free throws at the 8:40 mark to regain the Cards' double-digit lead.
Freshman guard
Dani Kissel connected on her first collegiate points at the 4:22 mark of the second quarter, tallying two more three-pointers to total a 3-of-4 mark from behind the arc in the opening half. She led all scorers at the half with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Huck had 10 points at the break, to go along with five rebounds, as the Cards held a 43-31 lead.
The Cardinals carried their solid scoring effort into the second half, increasing their lead to 13 points following a layup by junior forward
Taylor Pifher with 5:50 left in the third period. Otterbein ended the period with a 16-point advantage over the Bishops, recording 22 points in the quarter.
Otterbein maintained its lead through the final period, increasing its lead to as many as 18 points thanks to a 45.8 percent shooting mark on the night. The Cardinals also connected on 9-of-24 three-point attempts to go along with a solid outing from the charity stripe at 19 of 24.
Miduri led all scorers with 20 points on 6-of-17 shooting, including four three-pointers, while posting a game-high six assists and five rebounds. Kissel followed with 19 points on a 6-of-10 mark from the field, knocking down three shots from three-point range. Huck added 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds. A total of seven Cardinal players scored five or more points on the night.
The Cardinals will travel to Washington and Jefferson this weekend for a tournament where they will play Wittenberg on Friday at 6 p.m. in the first of two contests in Washington, Pa.
