Women’s Basketball crosses 100-point mark, defeats Geneva (Pa.) for fifth straight win

By Wes Mayberry

| Bluffton Holiday Tournament website |

BLUFFTON — The Ohio Northern women's basketball team won its fifth straight game Thursday afternoon, and in impressive fashion, defeating Geneva (Pa.) 101-30 at the Bluffton Holiday Tournament at the Sommer Center on the campus of Bluffton University.

Northern improved to 9-2 overall while dropping the Golden Tornadoes to 3-5.

Thursday marked the first time the Polar Bears scored 100-plus points since a 103-50 win at Baldwin Wallace in the 1987-88 season.

Junior Brynn Serbin (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) tallied career-highs of 18 points and seven assists to go with three rebounds and three steals to lead ONU in the win.

Senior Alissa Stahler (Lima/Shawnee) added her second double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds to go with three assists and two blocks.

Senior Kate Iliff (Lorain/Steele) and freshman Brooke Allen (Woodville/Woodmore) each added eight points and five rebounds for Northern while senior Jaidyn Hale (Lima/Bath) chipped in seven points, six rebounds and five assists.

Senior Lexi Jacobs (Wapakoneta), sophomore Kasey Knippen (Ottoville) and freshman Abby Dickson (Germantown/Valley View) finished with seven points each.

Mia San Nicolas and Isabella Roth led the way for Geneva with eight and six points, respectively.

The Polar Bears led 25-11 at the end of the first quarter, which was highlighted by six points from Serbin and five from Stahler.

ONU led 10-9 midway through the opening period before closing it on a 15-2 run over the final 3:46. The spurt began with a 3-pointer from Dickson and was capped with a triple from Iliff with eight seconds left in the quarter. Six different players contributed points in that stretch.

The Polar Bears continued to increase their lead in the second quarter, opening the period on a 22-4 run to go up by 32, 47-15, on a Dickson jumper with 4:20 left in the first half.

Northern got points from six different players in that spurt, including seven from Serbin and five from Knippen, both of whom made a 3-pointer.

ONU outscored Geneva 31-9 in the second quarter to take a 56-20 edge at halftime.

Serbin and Stahler were both in double figures at the break with 13 and 11 points, respectively, as the Polar Bears held the Golden Tornadoes to just 25% shooting over the first 20 minutes.

Northern opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer from Iliff and outscored Geneva 23-2 in the period to enter the fourth with a 79-22 lead.

A 3-pointer from freshman Jada Benjamin (Parma/Valley Forge) put the Polar Bears over the 100-point mark, giving them a 101-30 lead with 47 seconds remaining in the game.

Ohio Northern made 42-of-80 field goals for 52.5% and was 8-of-23 from 3-point range for 34.8%, while the Golden Tornadoes made 12-of-70 field goals for 17.1% and were 5-of-44 from beyond the arc for 11.4%.

The Polar Bears were 9-of-15 from the foul line for 60% while Geneva was 1-of-2 for 50%.

ONU out-rebounded Geneva by a 64-34 margin and forced 21 turnovers.

The Polar Bears return to the court on Wednesday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m. to host Ohio Athletic Conference foe Otterbein at the ONU Sports Center.