Ohio Northern ONU 10-6,8-2 OAC

John Carroll JCU 9-8,4-6 OAC

Ohio Northern ONU

10-6,8-2 OAC

Final

Jan. 20, 2024

John Carroll JCU

9-8,4-6 OAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Ohio Northern ONU	14	17	18	17	66
John Carroll JCU	7	14	9	21	51

Summary
Box Score

Sean Finucane

The Blue Streaks dropped a third straight game against one of the conference's top teams.

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 1/20/2024 7:02:00 PM | Danny Gibel, Staff Writer

Polar Bears Outmuscle Blue Streaks in Snowy Saturday Home Defeat

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – After a busy week for John Carroll Athletics, Blue Streak Basketball returned to action on Saturday against the Polar Bears.

While the Men's team traveled west to Ohio Northern, Head Coach Beth Andrews '15 and her 9-7 Blue Streaks hosted the 9-6 Polar Bears for an afternoon Ohio Athletic Conference matchup.

Even with their equal overall win totals, the Polar Bears ranked third in the league, two spots ahead of the Blue Streaks, before Saturday's game.

The Polar Bears raced out of the gate and capitalized on four early turnovers by the Blue Streaks in a 66-51 defeat.

It was a high intensity contest right from the opening tip, and the Polar Bears used that to their advantage. After outmuscling the Blue Streaks 11-5 in rebounding, the visitors held a 14-7 lead after the first quarter.

The Blue Streaks shot just 20% from the field in the first quarter, but they picked things up to close out the half. JCU doubled its point total with 14 points in the second quarter.

The Blue Streaks trailed 31-21 at halftime, even with their improved offensive efforts. The halftime deficit was in large part due to the Polar Bears' three-point shooting. The visitors scored nine of their 17 second quarter points via the three-ball. Noelle Ruanne led all scorers with 11 first–half points, including a perfect three for three showing from beyond the arc.

Any momentum that was gained by the Blue Streaks in the second quarter was nearly completely extinguished in the third quarter. The Polar Bears emerged from the third quarter with a convincing 48-30 lead, outscoring the Blue Streaks, 17-9.

The Polars Bears did not make anything easy for the Blue Streaks and continued to play with a strong intensity. It was this extra gear of hustle that allowed them to open up the 18-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

It was tough for the Blue Streaks all afternoon, but they found a brief stretch of momentum midway through the fourth quarter. From 8:39 to 4:47 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Blue Streaks went on a 12-2 run to close the gap on the scoreboard to just 53-42.

The success was short lived, as the Polar Bears countered with a 15-4 run of their own, which effectively ended the Blue Streaks' comeback hopes.

Ava Ryncarz led the Blue Streaks with 18 points and six rebounds. Maddie Pietrowski also tallied eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The Polars Bears secured the win with a final score of 66-51 to improve to 8-2 in the OAC. With the loss, the Blue Streaks are now 4-6 in the conference and will set their sights on a home matchup with the Heidelberg Student Princes.

Tip-off is set for Wednesday at 7pm at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.

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