Ohio Wesleyan 73, Ohio Dominican 59

Dec. 30, 2006

Junior wing Steffi Graf (Poland/Seminary) scored 5 straight points during a 9-0 first-half run that helped the Bishops take a double-digit lead, and senior guard Emily Lloyd (Canton/Massillon Jackson) hit 4 straight free throws to cap a 9-0 second-half run that broke the game open as Ohio Wesleyan won the Bishop Classic championship with a win over Ohio Dominican on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.

In Saturday's first game, Mount Union scored to send the game into overtime and pulled away during the extra session for an 82-71 win over North Central in the Bishop Classic consolation game.

The first 12 minutes of Saturday's championship game did not see a lead bigger than 4 points. Ohio Dominican closed to within 20-19 on a lay-in by Krissy Haines with 8:23 left in the first half, but the Bishops responded with a pair of Graf free throws with 7:12 remaining and a Graf 3-pointer with 5:41 to go. Sophomore post Laurel Lawson (Navarre/Fairless) followed with a lay-in and junior post Kelli Lester (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial) added a pair of free throws to stretch the Bishop lead to 29-19 with 4:33 left in the period.

Ohio Wesleyan took a 39-28 lead at halftime and opened the second half with scores by Graf and senior wing Rachel Messaros (Reynoldsburg/Bishop Hartley) for a 15-point edge, but the Panthers rallied, closing to within 44-39 on Katalin Beck's 3-pointer with 13:19 to go and getting within a single basket when Haines hit a pair of free throws to make it a 52-50 game with 5:30 to play.

Ohio Dominican was still within 59-54 on Haines' jumper from the lane with 3:37 remaining when the Bishops went on their 9-0 run. Lester hit the second of 2 free throws, then Graf hit a jumper in the lane. A Lester lay-in preceded 4 straight Lloyd free throws that gave Ohio Wesleyan a 68-54 lead with 1:25 to go. Graf hit 4 straight free throws down the stretch to keep the lead in double digits.

Messaros led the Bishops with 20 points, while Graf finished with 16 points and a team-high 3 assists. Lester posted a double-double for the second straight game, finishing with 14 points and leading all players with 11 boards.

Haines led Ohio Dominican with 27 points. Kirsten Ruen grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds and Tristin Miracle led the Panthers with 4 assists.

In Saturday's consolation game, Mount Union scored the last 8 points of the game to pull away for the win.

The Purple Raiders led by as many as 8 points during the first half, and had a 41-33 lead with 15:16 left in regulation time. North Central came back to tie the game at 49-49, with Brianne Parra hitting a pair of lay-ins and Lauren Kazmierczak drilling a 3-pointer to even the game with 11:06 left.

North Central held a 67-66 lead with 2:35 to go, and the Cardinals made it 68-66 when Jessica Davis hit the first of 2 free throws with :55 remaining. After the teams traded turnovers, Mount Union's Caitlin Carroll found Lauren Friedrich underneath for a lay-in that tied the game with :18 to play.

The Cardinals had a chance to win the game in regulation. After nearly losing the ball in a Mount Union trap near the sideline, the Cardinals got the ball into the paint and Gia Navarra broke free along the baseline, got the ball and had a shot from underneath the basket, but the potential game-winner bounced off the rim.

In overtime, North Central took an early lead on Danielle Tinkoff's lay-in, but that would be the only basket the Cardinals would score in the extra session. Mount Union got 2 lay-ins and 2 free throws from Alicia Williams to take the lead for good, then a lay-in by Carroll and 2 more by Williams helped stretch the lead to 82-71 with :18 remaining.

Williams led Mount Union with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Friedrich finished with 14 points and Meghan Simons scored 13 points. Ellie Geiger led the Purple Raiders with 5 assists.

Parra led North Central with 17 points and shared the team lead with 9 rebounds. Tinkoff added 14 points and shared the team lead with 9 rebounds, Navarra finished with 12 points and Davis had 10 points. Amber Cibrario led the Cardinals with 6 assists.

All-Tournament Team
Steffi Graf, Ohio Wesleyan
Rachel Messaros, Ohio Wesleyan
Krissy Haines, Ohio Dominican
Alicia Williams, Mount Union
Brianne Parra, North Central

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