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ADA, Ohio – The fourth-seeded Otterbein women's basketball team suffered an 80-72 loss at top-seeded Ohio Northern on Thursday night in a high-scoring OAC Tournament semifinal matchup inside the ONU Sports Center.

A fast-paced start to the contest was spurred on by Ohio Northern, ranked 24th in the latest national poll, which came out of the gate accounting for six of the first eight points before pushing ahead to a 14-8 advantage near the five-minute mark.

Otterbein (17-10 overall) quickly caught up to its opposition with back-to-back layups from senior Kiersten Taylor to cut the deficit to just two points. ONU rapidly responded with seven of the next 11 points to end the initial quarter with a five-point lead.

Senior Abby Miduri connected on a three-pointer from the wing for the opening points of the second period, trimming the Cards' deficit to a one-possession game once again.

That was as close a margin as Otterbein would come prior to halftime as the Polar Bears went ahead by as many as 10 points, thanks to a 10-4 scoring run midway through the frame before heading to the locker room with a 40-34 advantage.

Junior Dani Kissel checked in with a team-best 11 points at the break, having reached the 1,000-point mark for her career at with just under eight minutes remaining in the quarter. Kissel joins Taylor, who became a member of the 1,000-point club this past Tuesday, as one of 19 players in program history to accomplish the feat.

Ohio Northern (23-4 overall) claimed its largest lead of the night at 49-34 just over three minutes into the second half, manufacturing a 10-3 run to abruptly extend its lead back to double digits.

The Cardinals did not back down though, clawing their way back within five points with 2:46 left in the period thanks in part to back-to-back three-pointers from Kissel and Miduri off half-court sets. Otterbein kept the score within two possessions as the game went into the final quarter, ONU leading 56-52.

Otterbein continued to hang within a handful of points behind ONU as the fourth period progressed, before the Polar Bears' Emily Mescher converted an old-fashioned three-point play to go ahead 65-56 with 6:14 left to play.

The Cards could not manage to slow the Polar Bears offensively down the stretch despite pulling within two possessions multiple times over the course of the final three minutes of action. ONU made 8-of-10 shots from the foul line in the final minute to help secure its spot for a second-straight year in the OAC title game.

Kissel paced the game in scoring with 23 points, going 8-of-18 from the field with five made shots from beyond the arc to go with six rebounds. Taylor followed with 13 points to finish her career 1,015 points, good for 18th all-time in program history. The game for Otterbein was also the final in the collegiate playing career of Taylor and Miduri.

Miduri and Cartnal also finished in double-figures with a combined 22 points, while sophomore Abbie Scholz notched a game-high 14 boards to accompany three points.

ONU's Amy Bullimore led her team with 20 points and nine rebounds, as the Polar Bears will host second-seeded Marietta in the OAC championship game on Saturday for the rights to an automatic bid to the NCAA D3 Tournament.