Women's Basketball Stumbles on the Road at ONU
The Heidelberg College women’s basketball team stumbled out of the gates in the opening half at Ohio Northern University and could not recover in a 66-39 Ohio Athletic Conference setback. The loss drops Heidelberg to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the OAC, while the Polar Bears improve to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in league action.
Coming out of the gates, Heidelberg’s Stacey Richard (Galloway, Ohio / Central Crossing) drew a foul on the first possession of the contest, splitting the eventual free throws to give the Berg an early advantage. ONU responded with a Leah Zimmerman jumper and never looked back.
Heidelberg shot just 33.3 (9-for-27) from the field in the opening half and Richard was the lone ’Berg player to visit the charity stripe the entire first half with her free throws to open the game. Ohio Northern shot 60.0 percent (18-for-30) to hold a 40-19 lead at the intermission.
Heidelberg continued to play strong and take the open shot in the second half, but its shooting woes continued. Ohio Northern built its largest lead of the game at 31 points, 56-25, with 12:32 on the clock and went on to post a 66-39 victory.
Senior Hollie Knott (Concord, Ohio / Riverside) led the way for the Berg with nine points and five rebounds, while freshman Jenny Miller (Tiffin, Ohio / Clyde) had an all-around strong showing finishing with seven points, four rebounds and three assists. Brittany Skolnicki (Lorain, Ohio / Clearview) chipped in with six points. Amanda Campbell (Pataskala, Ohio / Watkins Memorial) pulled down five rebounds to share team honors with Knott.
Erin Brand led the Polar Bears with a game-high 16 points and Zimmerman finished with seven rebounds.
Heidelberg, under the guidance of 20th-year head coach Karen McConnell, returns to action against Mount Union on Dec. 8. Game is slated to be played in Tiffin beginning at 3:00 p.m. The contest with the Purple Raiders begins a stretch of three-straight at home for the Berg.