WESTERVILLE — Sophomore Kyla Irby posted a career-high 26 points as the Otterbein women's basketball team earned an 80-52 win over Ohio Athletic Conference opponent Muskingum in Saturday's Senior Day game.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (12-11 overall, 8-8 OAC), Muskingum (4-19 overall, 2-14 OAC)
• Venue: Rike Center - Westerville, Ohio
• Prior to the game, Otterbein recognized seniors Maizie King and Sophie Smith during a Senior Day ceremony.

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Irby led the team with a career-best 26 points to go with three assists, two rebounds and a steal. She was 4-for-6 from 3-point range and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
• Graduate student Kathleen DeCarlo contributed 12 points, four rebounds and a steal.
• King scored 12 points while adding five rebounds and a steal.
• Freshman Kiara Hudgins chipped in eight points, one rebound and one assist.
• Sophomore Abby Rawlings added eight points, two rebounds and two assists.

Game Highlights

• First Quarter: The Cardinals opened the game on a 6-0 run, getting four points from Hudgins and two from King over the first three-plus minutes. Irby then answered a Muskingum 3-pointer with a triple of her own, putting Otterbein up 9-3 with 6:18 left. Rawlings added back-to-back 3-pointers, increasing the lead to 15-3 with 3:11 remaining before the Muskies added another basket. Scores from King and freshman Mattie Walburn gave the Cardinals a 19-5 edge with 2:22 remaining, forcing Muskingum to call a timeout. DeCarlo converted an and-1 off a Muskie turnover to increase the lead to 22-7, and a basket from Irby put the Cardinals up 24-7 going into the second period.
• Second Quarter: The Muskies opened the second-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer, but Otterbein continued its hot shooting with a jumper from Hudgins. An and-1 from DeCarlo and a pair of free throws from Rawlings put the Cardinals up 33-14 with 7:37 left. Otterbein continued adding to its lead with a jumper from freshman Madilyn Stechschulte and a free throw from junior JuJu Grubich, making the score 36-16 with 4:52 remaining. Irby added a layup followed by a 3-pointer, putting the Cardinals up 41-17 with 3:57 left, and Otterbein took a 43-23 edge into halftime.
• Third Quarter: Muskingum opened the second half with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 13, 43-30. But Irby responded with a personal 7-0 run capped by a 3-pointer, giving Otterbein a 50-30 edge with 4:20 remaining. A jumper from DeCarlo followed by a pair of free throws from Irby and layup from King made it a 56-33 Cardinal lead with 1:03 left, and Otterbein took a 56-37 advantage into the final quarter.
• Fourth Quarter: Irby drained her fourth 3-pointer of the game and added a layup for a personal 5-0 run to increase the Otterbein lead to 65-37 with 7:44 remaining. The Cardinals put together a 6-0 run later in the period, getting two points each from King, Grubich and Hudgins for a 71-40 edge with 3:56 left. Smith converted an and-1 with 1:36 left for her lone Senior Day score for a 76-48 edge with 1:36 remaining en route to the 80-52 Otterbein victory.
• Key Team Stats: Otterbein shot 56.6% from the field and was 6-of-15 (40%) from 3-point range. Muskingum shot 43.5% from the field and was 9-of-27 (33.3%) from 3-point range. The Cardinals were 14-of-16 (87.5%) from the free-throw line, while the Muskies were 3-of-8 (37.5%) from the line. Otterbein out-rebounded Muskingum by a 28-25 margin.

Quotes

• Head coach Diana Noles discusses the seniors: "Soph and Maizie—it was awesome to give them some recognition tonight. Neither of them spent four full years with us. Maizie transferred in as a sophomore, and Soph joined the team in the last couple of years. It was definitely a different experience, but they both made a real impact on who we are as a team, our culture, and ensuring we competed the right way. It was great to give them that recognition and have their families here. Both played great and had some special moments tonight. As a coach, that's all you want — for them to be recognized and have a moment in the game where they feel great. They both deserved it."
• Senior Maizie King reflects on the game and her career: "Today was so much fun — lots of minutes and exciting plays. We wanted to run them off the floor, and I think we did. Playing with Soph was special, especially seeing her get that and-1 at the end. Kath and I work together a lot, so that was rewarding too. Looking at my career, I've grown a lot since transferring in as a sophomore. It's been challenging but also incredibly rewarding. Being a student-athlete is one of the best decisions I've ever made, and I'm grateful for the journey."
• Sophomore Kyla Irby reflects on her career-best performance: "I thought we started off a little slow, but once we hit shots, we found our rhythm. We ran well in transition, got open layups and played strong defense, forcing turnovers and making the right passes.I just played within the flow of the game, and my teammates did a great job getting me open. Once I saw the ball go in, my confidence kept growing. I just wanted to have fun out there." 

Notables

• Irby's previous career-high point total was 25, set earlier this season on Jan. 11 at Muskingum.
• Irby has scored in double figures in 16 games this season and is averaging a team-high 13.3 points per game. She entered Saturday ranked sixth in the OAC in scoring average (12.7 points per game), second in free-throw percentage (86.5%), fourth in free throws made (83) and seventh in 3-pointers made (36).
• DeCarlo has scored in double figures in six of the past seven games and 14 games overall this season and is averaging 11.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. She entered Saturday ranked fifth in the OAC in field-goal percentage (47.3%), seventh in rebounding average (6.5 per game), ninth in free throws made (61), 10th in free-throw percentage (70.9%) and 11th in scoring average (11 points per game).
• Rawlings entered Saturday ranked second in the OAC in assists (68), while Hudgins was tied for fifth (56). Hudgins also ranked third in the conference in steals (48).
• Walburn entered Saturday ranked sixth in the OAC in field-goal percentage (47.3%).
• Head coach Diana Noles is in her sixth year at Otterbein and has an all-time record of 75-63 at the helm of the Cardinals.
• Otterbein entered Saturday in sixth place in the OAC standings, one game behind fifth-place Marietta and one game ahead of seventh-place Mount Union with two more games left in the regular season. Muskingum entered the day tied for ninth place with Heidelberg. The top six teams qualify for the OAC Tournament.
• Otterbein holds a 24-10 edge in the series against Muskingum dating back to 2008 and has won 13 of the past 15 meetings dating back to 2018. In the teams' meeting earlier this season, on Jan. 11, the Cardinals came away with a 62-59 win in New Concord.