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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein women's basketball team got back into action following an 11-day layoff Wednesday and Thursday, returning from Christmas to host the (typically annual) Smokey Ballenger Classic inside the Rike Center.

The event, which didn't take place last season due to the pandemic, rejoined the men's and women's squads for the past tradition of eight games in two days.

Otterbein took both games in rather decisive fashion, comfortably pulling away from Mount St. Joseph on day one before falling to rising to the challenge and snapping Albion's eight-game winning streak in the championship contest.

MOUNT ST. JOSEPH RECAP (W 74-57):
A low-scoring first quarter ended with Otterbein leading 12-10, but both sides found a groove throughout a higher-scoring frame in the second. The Cardinals extended the lead to double digits late in the period before settling with a 39-31 edge at the break.

Otterbein found some breathing room in the third quarter, outscoring the Lions 23-15 as sophomore guard Katie McCrary kicked into full gear. An 11-2 run kickstarted the frame and the Cardinals never looked back…

MSJ (3-7) only trailed by eight with a few minutes left in the third, until Otterbein culminated the stretch on an 8-0 run and bumped the margin to as many as 20 in the fourth.

McCrary went nuts for a final line of 26 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals… with the points and rebounds marking new career-highs. She shot 13 of 21 from the field over just 28 minutes of action, doing most of her damage in space and getting to the rim.

Angelia Jackson, Claire Radabaugh and Kyna Waderker all chipped in eight points while swiss-army knife Kathleen DeCarlo chalked up 10 rebounds, six points and five assists.

Otterbein shot over 46 percent from the field and doubled-up the Lions in bench scoring, points in the paint and points off turnovers. Both sides combined to shoot just 6 of 43 from behind the arc.

ALBION RECAP (W 67-55):
The Britons, with their only loss coming to No. 3-ranked John Carroll before Thanksgiving, entered receiving votes in the national poll and looking to win a ninth-straight game. Otterbein, and specifically its stout defense, had other plans…

The Cardinals held Albion (11-2) to just six points in the first quarter, building a 15-6 lead and never looking back. Both sides played fairly even in the second frame, but the Britons still only shot 22 percent from the field prior to intermission.

Otterbein carried a 33-23 edge out of the break and found more breathing room behind the hot shooting of Radabaugh. The rising sophomore netted the team's first six points, and it would have been more had her foot not been on the three-point stripe on multiple occasions. (Who could blame her, though, as Reynolds Court currently features a billion lines for various levels/sports).

Nevertheless, it was all part of a blitzing 18-6 run that ballooned the Cardinal lead to 22 points late in the third quarter. An 11-2 spurt by Albion bridging into the fourth quarter kept things interesting, but Otterbein found nice responses (buckets from three different players) to push the Britons back into a deeper hole.

Radabaugh, named Most Valuable Player of the event, finished with a career-high 18 points and shot nearly 60 percent across the two games. The outburst marked just her second college game scoring in double figures.

McCrary went for 8-7-6 while battling foul trouble, but also found her way onto the All-Tournament Team with another balanced performance. She posted combined totals of 34 points, 12 assists, 12 rebounds and seven steals.

Six total players scored seven-plus points for the Cardinals, including 11 and 6 rebounds from DeCarlo and a 9-5-4-3 line from Jenna Hoschouer… who contributed stifling defense throughout

Otterbein shot .438 from the field while Albion settled with a season-low clip of 26.2 percent. Both teams combined to shoot 5 of 28 from long range.

UP NEXT:
The Cardinals (now 8-3 overall) will have almost another full week off before getting back into Ohio Athletic Conference play, traveling to Ohio Northern next Wednesday for tip at 7 p.m.