UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – The 23rd/24th-ranked Ohio Wesleyan University women's basketball team hit the road on Wednesday night to begin North Coast Athletic Conference play against 10th/7th-ranked John Carroll. This clash of NCAC titans was all it was made out to be as it went down to the wire with Kendall Dieringer calling game for the Bishops with 0.6 seconds left, 65-63.

OWU moves to 5-1 on the season and starts their conference schedule 1-0. John Carroll drops their first contest of the season, now 5-1 and 0-1 in NCAC play.

The Battling Bishops got going early and started the game on a 12-3 run through the first six-and-a-half minutes. The Red and Black defense stifled the Blue Streaks throughout the first quarter, allowing just three field goals to go ahead 14-7 at the first break.

Ohio Wesleyan increased their lead to 10 before the half as they outscored John Carroll 16-13 in a much closer second quarter. Macy Miller and Alyssa Griner led the charge, scoring a combined 14 of the 16 points as the Bishops took a 30-20 lead into halftime.

The third quarter was when things took a turn. After a hot start to the quarter for OWU, JCU set off on an 18-5 run to end the quarter, ultimately taking a 43-42 lead entering the final break. 

From then on out the game was neck-and-neck as either side looked to get ahead and stay ahead. Despite the Blue Streaks best efforts to build a lead, Ohio Wesleyan was always right there to strike a quick comeback and tie it up. The Battling Bishops eventually took a late 63-60 lead into the final minute, making it JCU's turn to tie it back up, which they did with 6.2 seconds on the clock.

After a timeout to advance the ball into the frontcourt, the Bishops had one chance to put it away. What followed was Nora Johns sending a pass to Dieringer in the corner who hesitated to get around the defender and drove baseline, finishing with a seven-foot floater that found the bottom of the net to make it 65-63 with 0.6 seconds left.

At this point, John Carroll had no choice but to throw up a desperation heave that came up well short. Thus, Ohio Wesleyan walked out of University Heights with a huge 65-63 upset win.

THE NUMBERS
Macy Miller and Alyssa Griner both turned in 16-point double-doubles. Miller recorded 16 points and 13 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season alongside three assists. Griner notched 16 points with 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the year.

Kendall Dieringer dropped 10 points including the game-winner. She also had one rebound, one assist, and one steal.

Maddie Ebbert tallied nine points with two rebounds, one assist, and one steal.

Katie Neuhart and Carly Lehman each scored four points. Neuhart had an additional four rebounds while Lehman added two boards.

Nora Johns and Mia Guscoff each finished with three points. Johns secured four rebounds, one assist, and one steal as well.

UP NEXT
The Bishops are back in action next Tuesday at home against Capital. That game at Branch Rickey Arena is set to tipoff at 5 p.m.