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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein women's basketball team opened strong and never looked back Wednesday night on its home floor, running past John Carroll by a lopsided score of 88-63 inside the Rike Center.

The Cardinals snap a three-game losing skid with the triumph, getting back to 7-7 overall on the season and a 3-4 mark within Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play.

Junior guard Ali Cartnal spearheaded her club to an early lead, scoring nine early points as Otterbein built a 21-8 advantage after the first quarter. John Carroll committed 10 turnovers in the initial period.

John Carroll (3-11, 1-6 OAC) clawed back in the second quarter, trailing 32-18 midway through but then holding Otterbein scoreless for over two minutes and going on a 9-0 run. The Cards regrouped and finished the half well, extending the cushion back to double digits and carrying a 40-29 lead to intermission.

Otterbein put the game away with a dominant third quarter, beginning the frame on a 13-4 run to ultimately open a 20-point gap. The Cards would keep JCU at arm's length the rest of the game in getting back to .500 for the year.

Cartnal matched a career-high with 24 points, also set back during her freshman year against Heidelberg. She shot 8 of 15 from the field and connected on four trifectas.

Three other Cardinals made it into double figures; Kiersten Taylor at 18, Dani Kissel at 13 and Abby Miduri scoring 10 in her first start since enduring an injury before Christmas. Taylor also corralled nine boards to just narrowly miss a double-double.

Otterbein shot a season-high 49 percent as a unit, went a perfect 14 of 14 from the free-throw line and secured a 20-8 edge in second-chance points. John Carroll was paced by 15 points from Chelbi Graham.

Otterbein is scheduled to finish out the week back up north, traveling to Baldwin Wallace come Saturday at 3 p.m. Stay tuned to otterbeincardinals.com and our social media outlets for updates regarding any potential inclement weather.