UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – A disappointing night up near Cleveland ended with the Otterbein women's basketball team dropping its first Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) game of the season, finishing on the low side of a 60-52 contest with defending champion John Carroll.
Otterbein, now 9-3 overall this year, sits 4-1 within league play and will be right back up north this coming weekend to play No. 14-ranked Baldwin Wallace. JCU, meanwhile, advances to 10-2 this winter and 4-1 against the OAC.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- A low-scoring first quarter ended with Otterbein leading 11-9, despite going over four minutes without a bucket of any kind.
- The Cardinals suffered a massive blow early in the second quarter as senior point guard Delaney Cutteridge, ranked top-20 nationally in assists while also averaging 12 points per game, went down with an injury and did not return. Her status going forward is unknown at this time.
- Otterbein held a 29-25 edge at halftime but managed to score just five points in the third quarter. JCU scored just 11 themselves, but it was good enough to take a slim 36-34 lead into the final period.
- John Carroll never trailed again despite the margin remaining tight throughout. Otterbein only trailed by a point, at 47-46, after Hailey Bauer drilled a trifecta with 4:43 showing on the clock.
- Another scoreless drought would halt the Cards again, this time recording only one point across three-plus minutes to fall behind by double digits.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Otterbein held its 11th opponent to 60 points or fewer this season, but shot just 32 percent from the field. Abby Zerkle scored 14 to lead the Cards, Jenna Hoschouer chipped in 10 and Bryn Mangold grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench.
- John Carroll finished with a 44-29 rebounding advantage behind star Olivia Nagy in the middle. The 6-2 sophomore, reigning OAC Defensive Player of the Year, almost notched a triple double with 22 points, 19 boards and eight blocks.
- JCU missed all eight attempts from long distance but went 20 of 27 at the free-throw line.
