UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — The sixth-seeded Otterbein women's basketball team scored a 71-54 upset victory at third-seeded John Carroll on Tuesday night in the opening round of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament. Four Cardinals scored in double figures led by 14 points apiece from freshmen Mattie Walburn and Madilyn Stechschulte, helping to send Otterbein to Thursday's tournament semifinals at second-seeded Ohio Northern at 7 p.m.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (13-13 overall), John Carroll (19-7 overall)
• Venue: DeCarlo Varsity Center - University Heights, Ohio
• OAC Tournament page

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Walburn was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line and added a team-high eight rebounds along with two assists and two steals to go with her 14 points.
• Stechschulte added six rebounds and a steal to her 14 points. She made seven of her 10 shot attempts on the night.
• Sophomore Kyla Irby made a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 11 points, two assists and one rebound.
• Graduate student Kathleen DeCarlo tallied 11 points and three rebounds in just 14 minutes of action before leaving the game in the second quarter due to an apparent injury.
• Freshman Kiara Hudgins added nine points, two rebounds, five assists and two steals.
• Sophomore Abby Rawlings posted six points, four rebounds, two steals and a team-high six assists.

Game Highlights

• First Quarter: John Carroll opened the game with a 7-0 run over the first 3:05 of game time, but the Cardinals held the Blue Streaks scoreless over the final 6:55 of the period. Otterbein put together a 14-0 run over the stretch, which was kickstarted by a 2-point jumper from Walburn followed by back-to-back 3-pointers from Irby and DeCarlo. After DeCarlo's triple gave Otterbein the lead, Rawlings and Hudgins added consecutive jumpers to make it a 12-7 edge with 2:25 left. DeCarlo capped the 14-0 run with a layup with 1:09 remaining to send the Cardinals into the second period leading 14-7.
• Second Quarter: The Blue Streaks ended their scoring drought with a 3-pointer to open the second quarter and added a layup to get back within two, 14-12. DeCarlo added four consecutive points via a pair of free throws and a layup, and Walburn followed with a jumper to extend the Cardinals' lead to 20-12 with 5:33 left. Back-to-back layups from Stechschulte and sophomore Nicole Terry increased the lead to 10, 26-16, with 1:22 remaining, and the Cardinals took a 26-18 edge into halftime. DeCarlo led the way for Otterbein in the opening half with 11 points.
• Third Quarter: Triples from Irby and Rawlings were part of a 10-3 Otterbein run that also included two points each from Walburn and Stechschulte that put the Cardinals up by 14, 36-22, with 7:25 remaining. Otterbein continued adding to its lead, as a short-range jumper from Hudgins made the lead 16, 40-24, with 5:43 left. The lead grew to 18, 47-29, on a layup from Hudgins with 1:37 remaining, and the Cardinals took a 49-30 edge into the final period after a Stechschulte layup with 10 seconds left.
• Fourth Quarter: A 3-pointer got JCU back within 14, 56-42, but the Cardinals maintained momentum and did not cede their double-digit advantage. A 3-pointer from Irby put Otterbein up 61-44 with 4:07 left en route to the 71-54 Cardinal victory. The Blue Streaks had cut the deficit to 13 with just under two minutes remaining but were unable to get any closer, as the Cardinals outscored JCU 6-2 over the final 1:42.
• Key Team Stats: Otterbein shot 52.1% from the field and was 5-of-14 (35.7%) from 3-point range. John Carroll shot 31% from the field and was 4-of-23 (17.4%) from 3-point range. The Cardinals were 16-of-20 (80%) from the free-throw line, while the Blue Streaks were 14-of-20 (70%). Otterbein out-rebounded JCU by a 31-27 margin.

Notables

• Irby has scored in double figures in 19 games this season and is averaging a team-high 13.3 points per game. She entered Tuesday ranked fifth in the OAC in scoring average (13.4 points per game), second in free-throw percentage (88%), fifth in free throws made (95) and sixth in 3-pointers made (43).
• DeCarlo has scored in double figures in 15 games this season and is averaging 10.6 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game. She entered Tuesday ranked fourth in the OAC in field-goal percentage (47.5%), eighth in rebounding average (6.2 per game) and 10th in free-throw percentage (72.8%) and free throws made (67).
• Hudgins entered Tuesday ranked second in the OAC in assists (74), while Rawlings was third (72). Hudgins also ranked third in the conference in steals (54).
• Walburn entered Tuesday ranked sixth in the OAC in field-goal percentage (46%). She has scored in double figures in eight of the past nine games and 12 games overall this season and is averaging 8.8 points per game. Her eight rebounds on Tuesday marked a season high.
• Stechschulte's 14 points on Tuesday marked a season high. Her previous single-game high was nine points at Mount Union on Feb. 8.
• Rawilngs' six assists on Tuesday tied her season high, matching her output against Oberlin on Dec. 30.
• Head coach Diana Noles is in her sixth year at Otterbein and has an all-time record of 76-65 at the helm of the Cardinals.
• The series between Otterbein and John Carroll is tied 18-18 dating back to 2008, and the Cardinals have won six of the past eight meetings. During the regular season, the Blue Streaks won 48-31 in University Heights on Jan. 8, and the Cardinals came away with a 69-67 victory in Westerville on Jan. 29.