ADA, Ohio – The Otterbein women's basketball team continued its dramatic string of games by outlasting Ohio Northern, 61-54, in overtime Wednesday night.
Within the past two weeks, the Cardinals lost to league-leader John Carroll in the final minute, came back from a 23-point deficit against No. 20 Baldwin Wallace and lost by three points to Mount Union last Saturday.
The senior duo of
Dani Kissel and
Ali Cartnal sealed the game for Otterbein by scoring the final seven points in overtime.
Otterbein now improves to 9-7 on the year and 5-4 in the cluttered Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), while the Polar Bears fall to 10-6 overall and 4-5 in the league.
The Cardinals used their defense in the first quarter to build a seven-point edge, as the team forced five turnovers and held the Polar Bears to two points in nearly seven minutes of action.
Junior forward
Abbie Scholz made a pair of free throws early in the second quarter to give Otterbein its largest lead of the night at 16-7.
Ohio Northern held the Cardinals scoreless for the next four minutes of action and cut the deficit to five.
Delaney Cutteridge ended the Otterbein drought by making a transition layup with 3:18 remaining in the half.
Heading into the locker room, the Cardinals owned a 23-22 advantage as Ohio Northern shot just 6 of 22 from the field.
Ohio Northern came out ready to go, scoring the first 12 points of the new half and not allowing a basket for six minutes.
Bryn Mangold ended the Polar Bear momentum and started Otterbein's 13-3 run to end the stanza, as the Cardinals trailed by one point heading into the fourth.
Neither team would gain much momentum in the final quarter, as the lead never grew larger than four points. Otterbein put the ball in Kissel's hands with the seconds ticking down in regulation, as she connected on a jump shot tying the game at 52-52.
Kissel led all scorers with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting, Scholz grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds with five coming on the offensive glass. Otterbein, as a unit, recorded 14 steals which resulted in 15 points off of turnovers.
The Cardinals are scheduled to play at Heidelberg on Saturday at 3 p.m. but the game could be rescheduled to Friday with inclement weather on the radar. For updates regarding the game, go to otterbeincardinals.com and/or follow @OtterbeinSports on different social media platforms.
