Box Score WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein University women's basketball team was edged 72-69 by No. 15-ranked Ohio Northern on Wednesday night inside the Rike Center.
Otterbein (8-10 overall) falls to 3-8 in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play and will travel to Muskingum on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tilt in New Concord, Ohio.
The Cardinals connected on two of the game's first three baskets to take a 5-4 advantage over ONU, before the Polar Bears manufactured a 16-4 scoring run to take a 10-point lead into the second period.
ONU increased its lead to 13 points to open the second quarter as the team's leading scorer, sophomore forward Amy Bullimore, notched a layup and the foul shot that followed. Otterbein then put together an 10-2 scoring run over a three-minute span to cut its deficit to 26-21 with 5:47 left until halftime.
Senior forward
Amariah Huck and junior forward
Taylor Pifher tallied back-to-back scores beginning at the 4:45 mark, with Pifher's jumper narrowing the Polar Bear lead to a one-possession game at 28-25.
Junior guard
Feaira Crews posted a three-pointer for the only other basket for the Cards over the final four minutes of play, leading to a 35-28 halftime advantage for ONU. Cartnal led Otterbein at the break with seven points on 2-of-8 shooting, while Huck followed with six points on an efficient 3-of-4 performance from the field.
The Polar Bears began the second half by twice boosting their lead to nine points on made shots by Bullimore, as ONU took a 41-32 advantagewith 7:24 left in the quarter. Freshman guard
Dani Kissel jump started the Cardinal offense with a fastbreak layup at the 8:23 mark, part of her 11 points in the quarter.
Otterbein struggled to score over the first 1:30 of the fourth period, conceding a 7-0 scoring run to ONU. Huck and Cartnal responded for the Cards by combining for seven of the team's next nine points, making the score 55-50 with 6:40 left to play. The Polar Bears regained a six-point lead with 2:30 remaining, before Kissel netted her second three-pointer to decrease the Cardinals' deficit to three points.
Cartnal joined the clutch three-point shooting for the Cards with the team down 68-62 with 1:22 remaining, as she connected on a deep three-point shot prompting an ONU timeout. The Polar Bears made four free throws down the stretch, keeping their lead intact to the final buzzer.
Kissel led the Cardinals with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, corralling six rebounds and assisting three times. Cartnal followed with 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting, including a 4-of-11 mark from behind the arc.
Huck posted 13 points and grabbed six rebounds, bringing her to 978 career points as she nears the 1,000-point plateau. Pifher added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds off the bench.
Bullimore led ONU with a game-high 25 points and 14 rebounds, shooting an impressive 12-of-17 from the field. The Polar Bears outshot Otterbein at 44.8 percent to 42.2 percent, respectively. ONU also enjoyed a 43-30 margin in rebounding.
