Big first half propels Polar Bears past John Carroll 77-57

Dec. 15 2007

By Zach Stipe

ADA — Five Polar Bears scored in double figures as the Ohio Northern women’s basketball team used a big first half to defeat John Carroll 77-57 on Saturday at the ONU Sports Center.

The Polar Bears improved to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference with the victory, while the Blue Streaks dropped to 2-5 overall and 0-3 in the OAC with the loss.

Junior Alisha Rinehart had her first career double-double and finished with 14 points and a career-high 13 rebounds off the bench.

Senior Erin Brand led all scorers with 17 points and added seven rebounds.

Also scoring in double figures were seniors Megan Cevasco (14), Leah Zimmerman (12) and Jenny Markle (10).

Markle made 2-of-3 3-point attempts and upped her season average to an impressive 60-percent. She is 27-of-45 from behind the arc on the season.

Junior Emily Culbertson had four assists and six steals.

The Polar Bears went on a 13-0 run over the last 3:15 of the first half to take a commanding lead.

Rinehart hit a jumper and a 3-pointer to spark the run and Cevasco hit 4-of-4 free throws as ONU held a 44-24 lead at the intermission.

The Polar Bears shot 50-percent (14-of-28) in the first and made 60-percent (3-of-5) of their threes.

Zimmerman’s layup put ONU up 49-28 with 17:08 left in the game, but the Blue Streaks fought their way back with a 9-0 run, culminating with a 3-point play by Liana Jennings.

Northern went back up by 20 on a pair of free throws by Erin Brand at 6:12, and held off any further JCU runs down the stretch to pick up the victory.

Northern had 25 points off of turnovers compared to only four for JCU.

Alex D’Amico led three Blue Streaks in double figures with 11 points, while Caitlin Sureck had 12 rebounds and three blocks.

For the game, the Polar Bears shot 39.7-percent, while John Carroll made 42.3-percent of its field goals.

“I thought we played a really good first half,” ONU head coach Michelle Durand said. “I know we need to keep getting better and keep improving.”

Ohio Northern returns to action next Wednesday against Otterbein for a 7:30 p.m. OAC-game at Westerville.

Northern doesn’t return home until Jan. 9, when the Quakers of Wilmington visit the ONU Sports Center.