The race between John Carroll and Baldwin Wallace for the Ohio Athletic Conference women’s basketball regular-season title is a dead heat.
With a 78-71 victory Wednesday over the host Blue Streaks at DeCarlo Varsity Center, senior forward Lexi Rohrbach and the Yellow Jackets improved to 17-5 overall and 12-3 in the OAC.
Rohrbach topped BW with 16 points as the Yellow Jackets put 10 players in the scoring column.
‘This was definitely a team win,’ Rohrbach said.
JCU senior forward and former Lake Catholic High School standout Missy Spahar posted game-high totals of 25 points and 12 rebounds as the Blue Streaks’ records dipped to 17-3 overall and 12-3 in the OAC.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Blue Streaks.
BW swept the regular-season series with JCU, having posted a 97-85 victory in January at Ursprung Gymnasium.
‘I’m upset about this loss, of course, but we’re still in first place and still looking good,’ Spahar said.
Wednesday’s hard-fought showdown turned in BW’s favor when the Yellow Jackets went on a 19-5 tear midway through the second half to take a 65-55 lead.
The Blue Streaks never drew closer than eight points after that as the Yellow Jackets pounded the ball inside, drew fouls and made free throws.
Also scoring in double figures for the Yellow Jackets were Shari Mangas (15), Audrey Smolik (11) and Alissa Munro (11).
‘We like to do it with balance,’ BW coach Cheri Harrer said. ‘We pride ourselves on depth and wearing down opponents.’
Using their size to get favorable matchups and force fouls, the Yellow Jackets were 20 of 31 from the free throw line.
JCU stalwarts Emily Taylor (10 points) and Daniella Price fouled out in the waning minutes. Three other JCU players finished with four personal fouls.
‘Our kids played smart basketball. When they got in foul trouble, we went inside with the ball,’ Harrer said
JCU senior point guard Allie Lustig played all 40 minutes and finished with 14 points. Freshman guard-forward Katlyn Spahar (Lake Catholic) had a rough go of it, finishing with nine points while missing 10 of 12 attempted fielders.
‘There were times (Wednesday) when our offense just wasn’t flowing well,’ Lustig said.
The Blue Streaks shot 38.8 percent from the field. BW shot 57.7 percent in the second half and 44.6 percent overall.
‘This game was as expected, competitive and physical,’ first-year JCU coach Kelly Morrone said. ‘We lost, but we’re still sitting in a nice spot. Our leaders are leading and we’re playing good basketball.’
Both teams turned up the defensive intensity in the first half that ended with BW clinging to a 31-28 lead.
The Blue Streaks managed only 10 field goals and shot 32.2 percent from the field. BW had 11 field goals while making 34.4 percent of its fielders.
With the Spahar sisters doing the bulk of the damage, the Blue Streaks took early leads of 9-4 and 16-11.
BW went on a 16-2 run to seize control at 27-18. Rohrbach contributed a basket and two free throws during the elongated spurt. The Yellow Jackets also got 3-pointers from Smolik and Munro.
Just when BW moved ahead 31-22 and threatened to extend the lead to double digits, Taylor buried two 3-pointers in the final minute of the half to keep JCU well within range.
Both the Yellow Jackets and Blue Streaks have three regular-season OAC contests remaining.
‘Every game is a championship game now,’ Harrer said.
