JCU Streaks Past the Berg

The Heidelberg College women’s basketball team finished with four players in double figures but it was not enough to overcome some hot shooting by John Carroll University in the second half and suffered a 76-72 Ohio Athletic Conference setback at the final horn.

The setback drops Heidelberg to 9-13 overall and 4-11 in league play, while the Blue Streaks improve to 14-8 overall and 9-6 in the OAC. Tonight’s contest was littered with pink in honor of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Associations commitment to breast cancer awareness. Heidelberg and John Carroll warmed up in pink t-shirts that symbolized the OAC’s commitment to the Think Pink campaign. Also at halftime, breast cancer survivors were honored and all the proceeds from the game will be donated to the Breast Cancer Fund.

An Amanda Campbell (Pataskala, Ohio / Watkins Memorial) three-pointer five minutes into the game gave Heidelberg an early 16-4 advantage. JCU finally found the bottom of the net on its ensuring possession and rattled of nine-consecutive points to pull within three points, 16-13, with 12:32 to play in the first half.

The Berg pushed its lead back to seven points following two Jenny Miller (Tiffin, Ohio / Clyde) free throws, but JCU once again responded with a Rachael Price three-pointer to pull JCU within striking distance, 27-23, in the finals five minutes of the opening half. JCU took its first lead of the game with 1:22 on the clock before halftime with two Caitlin Sureck free throws. Alex D’Amico closed out the scoring in the opening half with a JCU three-pointer to give the Blue Streaks a 35-31 advantage at the break.

John Carroll and Heidelberg played an even game, 41-41, in the second half, but the difference was a .700 percent (14-of-20) shooting by JCU from the field compared to .469 percent (15-of-32) by the Berg.

The Berg was held scoreless in the first 2:30 of the second half and faced a 41-31 deficit. John Carroll pushed its lead to as many as 13 points, 66-53, with 7:20 to go, but it was Heidelberg’s time to battle back. Stacy Richard (Galloway, Ohio / Central Crossing) finished in the paint to pull the Berg within three points, 70-67, with three minutes remaining. Both teams had costly turnovers over the final moments of the game and Heidelberg was unfortunately forced to foul. JCU sank 5-of-6 free throws to seal the win.

Leading the way for Heidelberg was Campbell with 19 points and six rebounds, while Miller tallied 13 points. Maureen Hunter (Toledo, Ohio / Notre Dame) came off the bench to finish with 12 and Richard recorded 11. Brittany Skolnicki (Lorain, Ohio / Clearview) shared rebounding honors with Campbell with six boards of her own.

D’Amico led four in double figures for John Carroll with a game-high 21 points, including 15 points from long range. Lianna Jennings backed D’amico with 15 points, while Sureck grabbed a team-best six rebounds.