Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 58, Ohio Northern 55
For the second straight game, the Ohio Wesleyan women's basketball team used a lengthy third-quarter run to help take down a nationally ranked opponent, going on a 15-0 run during the third period and holding off a fourth-quarter rally to post a non-conference win over 17th-ranked Ohio Northern on Tuesday at Branch Rickey Arena.
On Saturday, the Bishops assembled a 20-0 third-quarter run to break open a win over then-22nd-ranked Marietta.
Tuesday's action saw the visiting Polar Bears open the third quarter with buckets by Brynn Serbin and Brooke Allen to take a 31-21 lead.
Senior guard Lauren Denison (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial) answered with a jumper on the Bishops' ensuing possession, and after a jumper by senior guard Kasey Schipfer (Mechanicsburg), Denison buried a 3-pointer before 3 lay-ins from junior post Alyssa Griner (Delaware/Hayes) gave Ohio Wesleyan a 34-31 lead midway through the quarter. Schipfer closed out the run with a jumper that made it 36-31 with 4:11 to play in the period.
Ohio Northern narrowed the deficit to a single point on 2 occasions during the third quarter, but Schipfer scored with :23 left in the period before a free throw from junior guard Alayna McMullen (Canton/Massillon Jackson) gave the Bishops a 43-39 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Ohio Wesleyan led by as many as 6 points during the fourth period, but the visitors closed to within 54-53 on a 3-pointer by Abby Dickson with 1:41 to go.
Denison sank a jumper from the lane to push the lead back to 3 points, but the Polar Bears clawed back to 56-55 when Serbin hit a pair of free throws with :18 remaining.
With only one team foul to that point of the quarter, Ohio Northern was forced to foul 4 times in order to send Ohio Wesleyan to the free throw line, with Schipfer sinking a pair of free throws at the :11 mark to restore the 3-point margin.
The Bishop defense prevented the Polar Bears from getting off a potential game-tying 3-point shot to close out the win.
Each team held a 4-point lead during the first quarter, and the biggest lead by either team through most of the second quarter was 2 points until Ohio Northern got a pair of Grace Dean free throws and a Serbin 3-pointer during the final minute of the half to take a 27-21 lead at the break.
Schipfer led the Bishops with 26 points and 9 rebounds. Freshman post Macy Miller (Marysville/Fairbanks) went 5-for-5 from the field to finish with 10 points. Senior point guard Elizabeth Homan (Cincinnati/Anderson) collected a game-high 5 assists.
Box Score
