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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – A valiant come-from-behind effort in the second half fell just short Wednesday night inside the Rike Center for Otterbein, as the Cardinals stormed back late before resting on the low side of a double-overtime thriller with No. 20-ranked Ohio Northern.

The Cardinals, playing just their second home game all season, trailed by 14 in the third quarter but found a groove entering the last frame. ONU would later emerge 75-70 and run its winning streak to eight games.

REGULATION RECAP:

• A rugged Polar Bear squad built a methodical 15-7 lead after one quarter, and then used a 12-0 run late in the second frame to double up the Cardinals on the scoreboard. Kathleen DeCarlo nailed a buzzer-beating jumper from the baseline to keep Otterbein down 14 at the break.
   
• The Cards still trailed by 14 across the midway point of the third before shrinking that gap to just nine, 49-40, thanks to a trifecta from Olivia Majors. Neither team would score over the final 2:02 of the quarter.
   
• Otterbein furthered its climb back and knotted the game at 52-52, all part of a lopsided 17-4 run bringing the quarter break. Another deadlock at 54 ensued before the Cards finally gained an edge, 56-54, on a critical layup from Jenna Hoschouer.
   
• ONU tied the contest at 56-56 and Otterbein nearly ended the game in regulation, but a turnaround layup in the paint from DeCarlo barely rimmed out.

OVERTIME SESSIONS:

• The Cardinals trailed 62-58 midway through the first extra overtime but rallied once again, this time getting timely makes in the paint from DeCarlo and Hoschouer in the final minute.Hoschouer's heroics came with just seven seconds on the clock after the muscled through traffic and banked in a floater.
   
• Otterbein held a 66-65 lead in the second OT but the visitors regrouped to enjoy the last laugh, holding the Cards scoreless for nearly four minutes. ONU made a layup with 1:03 left to increase the gap to six points and escaped down the stretch.

 
BOX SCORE STUFFERS:

• DeCarlo flirted with a triple-double en route to a whopping stat line of 18 points, 16 rebounds and six assists over 49 minutes of action. Six of those caroms were on the offensive end.
• Majors poured in a career-high 19 points while Hoschouer caught fire late to end with 14 on 7-of-12 shooting.
   
• Otterbein shot 56% from the floor during the second half of regulation while holding ONU to under 23% in the same span.
   
• Ohio Northern held a 42-24 scoring edge in the paint, receiving a 19 and 13 game from Kristen Luersman in the process.
   
• Floor general Bryn Serbin tallied 22 points and six steals while handling the reins.

 
IT'S THE WEEKEND:

• Otterbein stays at home to finish out the week, welcoming Heidelberg for a doubleheader in the Rike as the nightcap at 7 p.m.