Women's Basketball: Heidelberg (9-14 Overall, 5-11 OAC) at Ohio Northern (11-12 Overall, 5-11 OAC)
Wednesday, February 13, 2019, 7 p.m. - ONU Sports Center, Ada, Ohio
Wednesday's Game Notes: The Ohio Northern women's basketball program concludes its 2018-19 home slate Wednesday evening with a critical, late-season Ohio Athletic Conference showdown against Heidelberg ... Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the ONU Sports Center in Ada ... ONU will honor seniors Alyssa Manley, Jenna Dirksen, and Tori Wyss Wednesday evening during the program's Senior Night festivities ... The Polar Bears enter the game sporting an 11-12 overall record and a 5-11 mark in the OAC ... With one week left in the regular season, Northern and Heidelberg are tied for eighth in the league standings, the final OAC playoff spot ... ONU battled league-leader John Carroll to the wire Saturday afternoon, but fell 56-54 at home ... Dirksen registered a team-high 15 points in the contest ... She now has 1,024 career points at Ohio Northern, which ranks 14th all-time in program history ... Wyss and junior guard Abby Weeks added nine and eight points, respectively ... Sophomore forward Sydney Ward hauled in a career-best 12 rebounds, including eight offensive boards, to lead ONU to a 41-22 advantage on the glass ... Through 23 games this season, Dirksen leads the team and sits fifth in the OAC with 14.1 points per game ... She also leads the team with 50 assists and 29 steals this season ... Junior center Emily Mescher is second in scoring with 7.8 points per game, and Weeks is third at 7.4 ... Mescher leads the team and is tied for 10th in the OAC with a 6.3 rebounding average ... Additionally, sophomore Emily Brock tops ONU and is fifth in the OAC with a 42.2% three-point field goal mark ... The Student Princes enter Wednesday's game owning a 9-14 overall record and a similar 5-11 mark in OAC action ... On Saturday, Heidelberg fell to Mount Union 62-46 at home ... Senior guard Alyssa Riley leads the team with 13.1 points per game ... Junior forward Maddy Crawford and sophomore guard Brooke Beamer trail closely, averaging 12.8 and 12.5 points per game, respectively ... Crawford also leads the team and the OAC in rebounding average, pulling down 11.4 boards per contest.
Ohio Northern Probable Starters:
G - #11 Alyssa Manley, Sr. (5.1 ppg, 49 assists, 19 steals)
G - #15 Abby Weeks, Jr. (7.4 ppg, 37 assists, 21 steals)
G - #31 Jenna Dirksen, Sr. (14.1 ppg, 50 assists, 29 steals)
F - #33 Tori Wyss, Sr. (5.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
F - #34 Emily Mescher, Jr. (7.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg)
ONU Statistical Leaders:
| Scoring | Rebounding | 3FGs | Assists | Steals | ||||||||||||||
| 1. | Dirksen | 14.1 | 1. | Mescher | 6.3 | 1. | Brock | 43 | 1. | Dirksen | 50 | 1. | Dirksen | 29 | ||||
| 2. | Mescher | 7.8 | 2. | Wyss | 6.0 | 2. | Dirksen | 40 | 2. | Manley | 49 | 2. | Weeks | 21 | ||||
| 3. | Weeks | 7.4 | 3. | Dirksen | 3.9 | 3. | Manley | 18 | 3. | Weeks | 37 | 3. | Manley | 19 | ||||
| Ward | 3.9 |
All-Time Series: Ohio Northern currently leads the all-time series 48-26 over Heidelberg ... The Polar Bears are 26-11 all-time against HU when playing at home ... The Student Princes defeated ONU 82-77 in overtime during the season's first matchup on December 19.
ONU Head Coach Michele Durand: Durand is currently in her 18th season at the helm of the Ohio Northern women's basketball program ... She is the all-time winningest coach in school history with a 309-175 record, a winning percentage of .638.
