Box Score

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein University women's basketball team defeated Muskingum, 81-59, on Wednesday night to register its first Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) victory of the season.
 
Otterbein (5-4 overall, 1-3 OAC) is now set to host cross-town rival Capital on Saturday at 3 p.m. inside the Rike Center.
 
Freshman guard Dani Kissel ignited the Cardinal scoring effort in the opening period, as she scored the team's first two baskets of the game en route to a 17-12 lead for Otterbein after 10 minutes of play. Kissel and sophomore guard Abby Miduri opened the second period combining for a trio of three-pointers to increase the Cards' lead to 14 points, leading to a Muskie timeout with 8:53 remaining in the first half. Senior forward Amariah Huck played a major role in contributing to that scoring run, picking up a rebound and a steal on two of the three possessions.
 
A missed layup by Muskingum on the ensuing possession led to a fast-break layup for Kissel from Miduri. The Cardinals gained their largest lead of the half at

 39-16 with 3:32 remaining, before taking a 19-point advantage into halftime. Otterbein shot an impressive 53.3 percent from the field in the opening half, holding its opposition to a 36.7 percent mark.
 
Muskingum chipped away at its deficit to begin the third period, cutting the lead down to 12 points at the 5:10 mark, before the Cardinals ended the quarter on a 15-5 scoring run to take a 64-42 lead into the final period. A made free throw by Kissel with 5:43 left to play gave Otterbein its largest lead of the night at 26 points, to which the Cards eventually sealed the home victory. 

Otterbein ended the game with a solid 53.2 percent mark from the field, connecting on 5-of-15 shot attempts from behind the arc (33.3 percent). The Cardinals also held a distinct 24-4 advantage in fast-break points over the Muskies. Kissel, who has scored 15 or more points in three of the last four games, led all scorers and tallied a new career-high with 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting to go along with a pair of rebounds.

Huck and Miduri posted 14 points apiece, with Huck corralling a game-high eight rebounds and Miduri tallying five rebounds and five assists. Junior forward Taylor Pifher added 10 points and four rebounds, while freshman guard Ali Cartnal recorded a game-high seven assists. All 15 Cardinal players saw at least three minutes of action.