ADA — The Otterbein women's basketball team fell 67-64 at Ohio Northern in a double-overtime thriller during Ohio Athletic Conference play on Wednesday night.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (12-12 overall, 8-9 OAC), Ohio Northern (17-7 overall, 13-4 OAC)
• Venue: ONU Sports Center - Ada, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Sophomore Kyla Irby led the team with 19 points to go with two rebounds and an assist. She was flawless at the free-throw line, going 4-for-4, and shot 7-for-13 from the field.
• Freshman Mattie Walburn contributed 16 points, three rebounds and one assist.
• Freshman Kiara Hudgins posted eight points, six rebounds five assists and two steals.
• Senior Maizie King registered five points, seven rebounds and two steals.

Game Highlights

• First Quarter: The Cardinals came out strong as King opened the scoring with a layup, followed by a 3-pointer from Hudgins to give them an early 5-0 lead. Walburn then knocked down back-to-back jumpers, extending the advantage to 13-6 with under five minutes left in the quarter. However, Ohio Northern responded with a 6-0 run, tightening the score to 13-12. Neither team found the basket in the final three minutes, keeping the Cardinals ahead by one at the end of the first quarter.
• Second Quarter: In typical Irby fashion, she hit a three to put the Cardinals up by four, making it 16-12. Ohio Northern then hit three straight 2-pointers to tie the game at 16-16 before taking its first lead at 18-16 with 6:20 left to play. Sophomore Nicole Terry answered with a layup to tie it again at 18-18 at the five-minute mark. However, Ohio Northern responded with an 8-0 run. Sophomore Abby Rawlings halted their momentum with a layup, cutting into the deficit to end the first half with Otterbein trailing 26-20.
• Third Quarter: The teams continued to battle for momentum, but the Polar Bears managed to build a 14-point lead at the midway point. However, the Cardinals tightened their defense, holding Ohio Northern scoreless from the field. They began chipping away at the deficit, with Hudgins starting the 11-2 rally with free throws, Irby adding a layup, graduate student Kathleen DeCarlo hitting a 3-pointer, and Walburn contributing a jumper and free throws, bringing the Cardinals within four, 43-39.
• Fourth Quarter: Otterbein continued to fight for the lead, closing the gap to two points on three different occasions in the quarter. Irby sank two free throws at the 6:30 mark to make it 47-45, but Ohio Northern responded with two of its own to extend the lead back to four. Walburn then knocked down a jumper to cut it to 49-47 with five minutes remaining. Once again, the Polar Bears made two free throws, but Irby responded with a layup at 4:35, cutting the deficit to 51-49. She then tied the game at 51-51 with 2:41 remaining before sinking a free throw to give the Cardinals their first lead since the beginning of the game, 53-52, with 2:40 left on the clock. The battle between the two teams continued, but with just one second remaining, Walburn received the inbound baseline pass and sank an off-balance sideways jumper to force the game into overtime.
• Overtime: Walburn broke the ice after three minutes of scoreless play with a jumper at the two-minute mark, putting Otterbein ahead 58-56. Irby extended the lead with a clutch and-1, giving the Cardinals a five-point advantage with 1:32 remaining at 61-56. However, Ohio Northern found its way back, scoring a layup and converting three free throws to tie the game and send it into double overtime.
• Double Overtime: King opened the scoring in double overtime with a layup at 3:47, putting Otterbein ahead 62-61. The Polar Bears quickly responded with a layup at 2:56 to regain a one-point lead, 63-62. The game remained scoreless until the final minute, when Ohio Northern sank a free throw with 50 seconds left. With nine seconds remaining, ONU converted a layup to extend its lead to four, 66-62. Irby answered with a layup at the six-second mark, cutting the deficit to 66-64. After an ONU free throw pushed the lead to three, the Cardinals had one last chance but couldn't get a shot to fall, falling 67-64.
• Key Team Stats: Otterbein shot 35.8% from the field and was 3-of-9 (33.3%) from 3-point range. Ohio Northern shot 30.4% from the field and was 3-of-22 (13.6%) from 3-point range. The Cardinals were 13-of-18 (72.2%) from the free-throw line, while the Polar Bears were 22-of-30 (73.3%). Both teams had a total of 47 rebounds. 

Notables

• Irby has scored in double figures in 17 games this season and is averaging a team-high 13.5 points per game. She entered Wednesday ranked sixth in the OAC in scoring average (13.3 points per game), second in free-throw percentage (87.3%), fourth in free throws made (89) and sixth in 3-pointers made (40).
• DeCarlo has scored in double figures in 14 games this season and is averaging 10.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. She entered Wednesday ranked fourth in the OAC in field-goal percentage (48.2%), eighth in rebounding average (6.4 per game) and free throws made (65) and 10th in scoring average (11.1 points per game) and free-throw percentage (72.2%).
• Rawlings entered Wednesday ranked second in the OAC in assists (70), while Hudgins was fourth (62). Hudgins also ranked third in the conference in steals (50).
• Walburn entered Wednesday ranked fifth in the OAC in field-goal percentage (46.7%). She has scored in double figures in six of the past seven games and 10 games overall this season and is averaging 8.4 points per game.
• Head coach Diana Noles is in her sixth year at Otterbein and has an all-time record of 75-64 at the helm of the Cardinals.
• Otterbein entered Wednesday tied with Marietta for fifth place in the OAC standings, three games behind a tie for third between Capital and John Carroll and one game ahead of seventh-place Mount Union with one more game left in the regular season. Ohio Northern entered the day in second place in the standings, one game ahead of Capital and John Carroll. The top six teams qualify for the OAC Tournament.
• Ohio Northern holds a 29-10 edge in the series against Otterbein dating back to 2009 and has won seven straight meetings. The Cardinals' last win over the Polar Bears was a 65-60 victory in Westerville on Feb. 2, 2022. In the teams' meeting earlier this season, on Jan. 15, the Polar Bears came away with a 64-55 win in Westerville.