PHOTO GALLERY (coming soon)

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – A tight and narrow contest fell in favor of the visiting Muskies on Saturday afternoon in the Rike Center, as Muskingum closed well to slip away with a 55-50 decision over Otterbein in league action.

The Muskies, trailing by a possession entering the fourth, held the Cardinals to just eight points across the last frame to emerge in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) tussle.

KEY STRETCHES:

• Otterbein led 14-8 in the first quarter thanks to some hot shooting from senior Olivia Major, who tallied seven quick points and settled her team into an early advantage.
   
• Muskingum inched back to eventually deadlock the game at 18-18 and 20-20 midway through the second. However, the Cards ripped off a quick 8-0 run and then later settled for a 28-23 halftime cushion.
   
• Otterbein seemed rip to pull away and create more separation in the third, pushing the lead to nine (35-26) within a few minutes on a timely jumper from Ella Nagel in the paint. The Muskies, again, absorbed that punch and only trailed 42-39 entering the fourth.
   
• The Cards unfortunately shot just 2 of 13 in the closing frame as Muskingum slowly took control, spearheaded by the play of smooth guard Claudia Harrington. She gave her team the lead for good (45-44) despite Otterbein coming back to force a tie at 49-49 on a Kyle Irby three-pointer with 2:49 to play.
   
• Harrington answered with an offensive rebound and layup to beat the shot clock on the other end in what proved to be a critical sequence. The Muskies forced a turnover defensively, Harrington scored again in transition, and Otterbein was unable to convert another field goal the remainder of the way.

BOX SCORE NOTABLES:

• Harrington led everyone with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting and nearly had a double-double with her nine rebounds. Teammate Caitlyn DeMassimo did achieve that with 16 points and 11 boards, as the duo represented nearly 2/3 of their team's scoring.
   
• Majors led Otterbein with 10 points and five boards, while Irby and Nagel both had nine themselves.
   
• Muskingum shot 42% for the game compared to a 35% output on the home side. The Muskies also held a 26-16 scoring edge in the paint.
   
• The rather clean game did not feature many free throws, as the teams combined to shoot 8 of 15 at the charity stripe.

STAYING HOME:

• The Cardinals remain in the Rike Center to begin next week, hosting John Carroll to conclude the first half of the OAC round-robin schedule.