Women’s Basketball loses thriller to 10th-ranked Ohio Northern

Women’s Basketball loses thriller to 10th-ranked Ohio Northern

The Muskingum University women's basketball team played a hard-fought contest against the 10th-ranked Ohio Northern, but a 24-13 outpour by the Polar Bears in the fourth quarter pushed them to the 73-66 victory.

The Basics

  • Records: Muskingum (6-9 overall, 2-6 Ohio Athletic Conference), Ohio Northern (14-1 overall, 8-0 Ohio Athletic Conference)
  • Location: New Concord, Ohio – Anne C. Steele Center

Notables

  • Senior Olivia Besancon tallied 20 points and is now only five points shy of becoming the 21st Muskie to score 1,000 career points.

 Inside the Numbers

  • Alexandra Carson led the Muskies with 22 points, finished with a career-high eight assists, while adding five rebounds and two steals.
  • Besancon accrued 20 points and four rebounds.
  • Emily Yeager led the reserves with eight points.
  • Stephanie Clark grabbed a team-best six rebounds.  
  • The Muskies shot .414 (24-of-58) from the floor and .394 (13-of-33) from behind the arc.
  • Amy Bullimore led the Polar Bears with 19 points and nine rebounds.
  • Jenna Dirksen chipped in 12 points, while Courtney Cramer added 11 points.
  • Ohio Northern ended the game shooting .482 (27-of-56) from the field, .538 from the arc (.538), and held a 38-28 edge in rebounds.

Game Highlights

A 10-0 run by the Polar Bears half way through the first quarter pushed their lead, 16-7, with 3:03 to go in the frame. Muskingum then compiled a 9-0 run during the final three minutes in the first to tie the contest, 16-16, but at the six second mark, Ohio Northern scored to take the 18-16 advantage. Back-to-back three's by Carson, Besancon, and Kacie Leppla fueled the Muskies 13-0 run in the start of the second quarter. Muskingum went on to outscore Ohio Northern 18-5, while shooting .467 from the field to ONU's .143, en route to leading, 34-23, at the half.

Schyler Fennimore's trey at the 9:14 mark in the third quarter gave the Muskies a 37-25 lead, it's largest in the contest. Ohio Northern continued to attack the glass and got within two points, 42-40, with 4:56 on the clock. Muskingum held on to the 53-49 lead at the end of the third. Four minutes into the fourth quarter, the Polar Bears tied the game at 56-56 off a free throw by Jenna Dirksen. Seconds later, Courtney Cramer regained the ONU lead since the first quarter off a three-pointer with 6:31 on the clock. The Muskies got within four points with 3:49 left and continued to attack the board, but never got closer. In the final minutes, Ohio Northern outscored Muskingum 9-7 and shot .533 from the field in the fourth to seal the win.

Up Next

  • Muskingum returns to action on Wednesday, January 17 as they travel to Alliance, Ohio to take on Mount Union. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.