Ohio Wesleyan 95, Otterbein 86

Dec. 18, 2008

Sophomore guard Pam Quigney (Mentor) scored 5 points to cap a 12-0 run that gave Ohio Wesleyan the lead for good, and went 4-for-4 from the line down the stretch as the Bishops held off an Otterbein comeback for a non-conference win over the Cardinals on Thursday at Branch Rickey Arena.

The Cardinals started the game on fire, hitting their first 7 shots from the field, but the Bishops kept pace by hitting 7 of their first 10 field goal attempts, pulling even at 16-16 on a lay-in by sophomore post Kayla Gordon (St. Louis, Mo./Mehlville).

Laura Roth answered with a 3-pointer for Otterbein, kicking off a 12-4 run that included baskets by Allison Huettel and Karli Volkmer before Roth finished off the burst with a lay-in and a 3-pointer.

The Cardinals built the lead to 34-25 on Volkmer's jumper with 7:55 left in the half before Ohio Wesleyan came back with a 13-4 run.

Junior wing Rachel Seibel (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe), sophomore wing Tyler Cordell (Columbus/St. Francis DeSales) and Gordon buried 3-pointers during that run, which tied the game at 38-38 with 5:33 left in the half, and Seibel followed with another 3-pointer to give Ohio Wesleyan its first lead since the opening moments of the contest.

Otterbein scored the next 9 points to retake the lead only to see the Bishops close the first half with a 10-4 run, capped by Quigney's buzzer-beating lay-in that tied the game at 51-51.

The Cardinals opened the second half with an 11-4 spurt and still led, 74-66, with 11:52 left in regulation time before the Bishops started their pivotal rally.

Gordon converted a 3-point play to start things off, then Cordell followed with a pair of jumpers from the lane before Quigney knocked down a 3-pointer for a 76-74 Bishop lead, then scored on a fast break to make it a 78-74 game with 7:51 to go.

The Bishops stretched the margin to 85-78 courtesy of another Seibel 3-pointer and a pair of free throws by Cordell, but Otterbein rallied to score the next 6 points, closing to within 85-84 after a Roth jumper, a Carla Lewis jumper and a Volkmer fast break lay-in with 2:32 to play.

Cordell countered with a lay-in on Ohio Wesleyan's next possession, and Quigney hit a pair of free throws with 1:58 to go for an 89-84 Bishop lead. After a pair of stops by the Bishop defense, Gordon hit a pair of free throws to put Ohio Wesleyan ahead, 91-84, with :32 to play, and Quigney and Cordell sealed the outcome with a pair of free throws apiece in the closing seconds.

Gordon led the Bishops with 31 points and 11 rebounds. Quigney finished with 22 points, Cordell scored 17 points and dished out a team-high 7 assists, and Seibel contributed 14 points.

Roth led Otterbein with 26 points and 11 assists. Volkmer kicked in 24 points, Kristi Kotterman scored 14 points and led the Cardinals with 7 rebounds, and Lewis added 12 points for the Cardinals.

Box Score