Box Score WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein women's basketball team dropped a back-and-forth home game Saturday afternoon against the University of Mount Union, enduring a 76-72 defeat inside the Rike Center.
The Cardinals, falling to 4-4 overall and 0-3 within the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), will regroup to host Muskingum University on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Mount Union, meanwhile, improves itself to 6-2 on the year and 3-1 against the league.
Mount Union's defense caused trouble for the Cards to begin the game, with the visitors opening a 10-2 lead after four minutes of action. Otterbein (4-4, 0-3 OAC) would settle in, scoring nine of the last 11 points to end the first period and trail just 17-16.
The Cardinals continued to find a groove as the second quarter progressed, eventually opening a 34-30 lead on a driving layup from freshman guard
Ali Cartnal with 1:59 to play before intermission. The Purple Raiders responded to close the half strong and take a slim 37-36 lead into halftime.
Cartnal entered the break leading all scorers with 11 points as both teams shot above 42 percent from the field. Mount Union used 14 different players in the opening half.
Both sides continued a similar pace in the third quarter, which remained a one-possession battle for the entire 10 minutes as Otterbein took a 52-51 advantage in the final frame.
The see-saw battle remained close as the final minutes approached, with the Raiders clinging to a 62-61 lead after Otterbein's
Taylor Pifher sank a pair of free throws with 5:01 to play. Mount Union finally broke the one-possession battle with a pair of four-point leads down the stretch, but the Cards hung step for step and trailed 71-69 after a layup from senior
Amariah Huck with 1:06 on the game clock.
Mount Union never surrendered the lead in the final minute, fighting off a potential tying layup from
Abby Miduri with four seconds remaining to escape with the hard-fought win.
Huck led the Cardinals with game-highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds, marking her first double-double of the young season. Miduri added 19 points while Cartnal had a season-best 16 off the bench.
Mount Union's Annie Bova, the OAC's leading-scorer at 21 points per game, led her team with 14 points on just 4 of 8 attempts from the field. Four other Raiders made it into double figures, including 13 points off the bench from Rachel Tinkey, who entered averaging just 5.9 ppg.
Neither team led by more than four points throughout the second half in a game that featured 52 fouls and 58 free-throw attempts.
