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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein University women's basketball team fell to Heidelberg, 71-62, in the first round of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament on Monday night inside the Rike Center. 

Otterbein finishes the season with a 14-12 overall record and a 9-9 mark in OAC regular season play after returning to the conference tournament for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Cards began the year by winning four of their first five games and recorded a five-game win streak late in the year that spanned two weeks.
 
The Cardinals struggled from the field in the first half of play, shooting just 25 percent on an 8-of-32 mark. Senior forward Amariah Huck tied the game at four points apiece at the 6:34 mark of the first period, before the Berg put together an 11-0 scoring run.

Heidelberg opened the second quarter with an 18-8 lead and maintained a six-point lead through the first four minutes. Otterbein scored two consecutive baskets midway through the second quarter to cut the Berg's lead to just three points at 23-20, before the Student Princes finished the half on a 9-3 scoring run.

Sophomore forward Kiersten Taylor kept the Cards in the game in the opening half, totaling a team-high 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting, knocking down 5-of-6 foul shots and grabbing four rebounds. Heidelberg shot a solid 48 percent from the field in the half, connecting on four three-pointers as part of its 12 field goals.

Huck posted two quick layups for the first four points of the second half, narrowing the Cardinal deficit back down to a two-possession game. The Cards then came to within three points of the Berg following a three-pointer by sophomore guard Abby Miduri with less than seven minutes left in the frame.

Otterbein battled back and forth with Heidelberg over the remaining six minutes of the third quarter, only to trail, 52-47, heading into the final 10 minutes. The Cardinals came no closer than five points in the final period, but did manage to cut the Berg's lead to seven points with 49 seconds remaining. Heidelberg led by as many as 13 points in the final period.

Huck led the game and capped off her collegiate career by scoring 18 points on 9-of-20 shooting to go along with eight rebounds. A two-time OAC Player of the Week this season, Huck finishes as the 10th player in program history to tally 1,000 points and 500 rebounds, ranking 13th all-time in both categories.

Taylor finished with 15 points on an efficient 5-of-7 shooting, corralling seven rebounds and two steals. Freshman guard Ali Cartnal followed with 13 points and four rebounds. Heidelberg junior forward Carli Patrick was a force for the Student Princes, scoring 15 points and grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds.

Heidelberg ended the game with a 48.1 percent mark from the field, connecting on eight three-pointers while posting a 37-4 advantage in bench points. Otterbein checked in shooting 36.9 percent on the night.