Ohio Wesleyan 89, Heidelberg 76
Washington & Jefferson 70, Northwestern Ohio 58

Dec. 29, 2008

Freshman wing Lea Mackenbach (St. Marys/Memorial) scored 5 points as Ohio Wesleyan broke a 56-56 second-half tie with a 13-2 run and went on to defeat Heidelberg in the first round of the Bishop Classic "Hoops for Hope" tournament on Monday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Washington & Jefferson defeated Northwestern Ohio, 70-58, in Monday's other first-round game. Ohio Wesleyan and Washington & Jefferson will square off in Tuesday's championship game, set for a 3 p.m. tipoff, to be preceded by the consolation game matching Heidelberg and Northwestern Ohio at 1 p.m..

Heidelberg had tied the game at 56-56 with a pair of free throws by Brittany Skolnicki with 12:24 left in regulation time.

Freshman post Dany Finck (Hilliard/Darby) put the Bishops on top with a pair of free throws, then sophomore guard Pam Quigney (Mentor) followed with a lay-in before a Finck jumper and a pair of Mackenbach free throws pushed the lead to 64-56 at the midway point of the half.

Heidelberg's Stacey Richard sandwiched a pair of free throws around a jumper by sophomore post Kayla Gordon (St. Louis, Mo./Mehlville) before Mackenbach capped the Bishop run with a 3-pointer that gave Ohio Wesleyan a 69-58 lead with 8:40 to play.

Richard answered with a 3-pointer to bring the Student Princes within 69-61, ending a dry spell of more than 5 minutes between Heidelberg baskets.

Heidelberg closed to within 78-71 on Skolnicki's lay-in with 1:47 to play, but the Bishops sealed the outcome by scoring the next 9 points, with Quigney and sophomore wing Tyler Cordell (Columbus/St. Francis DeSales) each going 4-for-4 from the line during that stretch.

Ohio Wesleyan had threatened to run off with the game during the first half, breaking a 15-15 tie with a 12-2 eruption that featured a pair of 3-pointers by junior wing Rachel Seibel (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe) and baskets by senior post Katie Hamilton (Hilliard/Darby), Cordell and Mackenbach.

The Bishops expanded their lead with another 12-2 run later in the half, with Mackenbach and Quigney supplying 3-pointers during that stretch, and took their biggest lead of the game when Cordell's lay-in made it a 46-26 game with 3:14 left in the period.

The Student Princes responded by closing the first half with a 16-2 run, getting a trio of 3-pointers from Lyndsey DaVault and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Skolnicki to pare the deficit to 48-42 at the intermission, then opening the second half with a 10-4 spree capped by Skolnicki's game-tying lay-in with 14:54 to go.

Quigney led the Bishops with 19 points, Cordell finished with 18 points and a team-leading 6 assists, Finck added 14 points and led all players with 12 rebounds, Seibel scored 12 points and Mackenbach kicked in 10 points.

Stacey Richard led Heidelberg with 23 points, while Skolnicki finished with 20 points.

In Monday's second game, Northwestern Ohio raced to a 7-0 lead, but Washington & Jefferson roared back to take an 11-9 lead and pulled away in the second half for the win.

Washington & Jefferson led, 23-22, when Catlyn Kriston hit back-to-back 3-pointers to kick off a 14-5 run that gave the Presidents a 37-27 lead at the break.

Northwestern Ohio cut the gap to 38-32 as Stacy Feathers scored the Racers' first 5 points of the second half, and Northwestern Ohio was still within 53-49 after Ashley Jackson stole the ball and went the length of the court with 7:12 to play.

The Presidents then went on an 11-0 run, holding the Racers without a basket for nearly 5 minutes. Meanwhile, Jamie McKitrick hit 4 straight free throws, Emily Hays and Veronica Kust added buckets, and Stephanie Smith finished off the run with a 3-pointer for a 64-49 W&J lead.

Hays led Washington & Jefferson with 15 points, while Kennan Killeen finished with 10 points and a team-leading 4 assists. Maggie Gibson tore down a game-high 15 rebounds.

Feathers led Northwestern Ohio with 15 points and Tara Olberding added 11 points.

Ohio Wesleyan-Heidelberg Box Score
Washington & Jefferson-Northwestern Ohio Box Score