Wednesday women: Three's a crowd

More news about: John Carroll | Trine | Wartburg
Jan 19, 2022
Nicole Heffington started strong and the rest of No. 12 John Carroll helped her finish off a three-point win over No. 11 Baldwin Wallace.
John Carroll athletics file photo 


No. 12 John Carroll created a virtual three-way tie atop he OAC by beating No. 11 Baldwin Wallace while No. 5 Trine and No. 15 Wartburg beat the teams directly behind them in the conference standings on Wednesday night.

No. 12 John Carroll won a back-and-forth battle over Cuyahoga County rival No. 11 Baldwin Wallace, 68-65, keeping the OAC title chance in a tight three-way race at the midpoint of the conference season.

The Blue Streaks started strong with All-Region honorees Olivia Nagy and Nicole Heffington combining for 16 points in the first quarter. John Carroll led for the entire first half and most of the third quarter, but Baldwin Wallace gained the advantage with a 6-1 run early in the fourth quarter. Emily Irwin’s three-pointer with 5:49 to play put the Yellow Jackets in front, 57-54. John Carroll responded with a 6-0 run and the Blue Streaks pushed their lead as high as six, 66-60. Carolyn Wochele hit a three for Baldwin Wallace to cut the JCU lead in half and the Yellow Jackets had a chance to tie but missed their final shot.

Nagy and Heffington both had strong performances and combined for 34 points and 19 rebounds, but the difference in the game was reserve Sarah Balfour who scored 17 points including four straight in the game-determining 6-0 run.

John Carroll and Baldwin Wallace finish the first half of OAC play with a 7-1 record and No. 16 Marietta is a half-game better at 8-1 after handling Capital, 91-69. Each of those teams has split its games with the other two.

No. 5 Trine went on the road and defeated Albion, 69-56, on the strength of Kayla Wildman’s 18-point performance and a 23-2 bench scoring advantage. The game swung in the second quarter when Trine went on a 17-2 run and pushed its 19-17 advantage to 36-19 at the break. Trine (12-2, 6-1 MIAA) shot 48 percent from behind the arc with 10 three-pointers. Lolo Reed scored 27 points for Albion (13-4, 6-2), which is halfway through a brutal stretch in which the Britons will play Trine or No. 1 Hope four times in six games.

No. 15 Wartburg rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to tip Loras, 84-82, and keep the Duhawks in third place in the ARC. The Knights trailed 50-40 at the break but Hannah Anderson hit four 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the third quarter where Wartburg outscored Loras, 29-13. Anderson finished with 19 points and Wartburg (12-2, 6-1 ARC) kept second place to itself, half a game behind No. 4 Simpson.

The 28th time was the charm for Swarthmore which entered Wednesday night 0-27 against ranked foes before beating No. 22 Mary Washington, 65-60. The Garnet grabbed a 35-21 lead at the half and then withstood the Eagles’ second half rally, making enough free throws down the stretch to seal the win. Alyssa Hayashi paced Swarthmore (9-4) with 20 points.

No. 23 UW-Oshkosh returned from a long COVID-driven layoff, shook off a slow start, and rallied past UW-Platteville at home, 66-56. The Titans (12-2, 2-2 WIAC) outscored UW-Platteville 23-13 in the final quarter and All-American Leah Porath scored eight of her team-high 19 points in that period.

Unbeaten Roger Williams survived a scare at Endicott, as the Hawks held the Gulls to four points in the fourth quarter and winged them, 57-56. Roger Williams (14-0, 9-0 CCC) shot 9 for 12 from the foul line while Endicott was just 5 for 11. Sarah Dempsey poured in 28 points and grabbed 10 boards for Endicott (8-7, 5-3 CCC).

The showdown for first place in the CCIW turned into a one-sided affair as Illinois Wesleyan rolled over visiting Millikin, 73-51. The Titans led wire-to-wire and converted 25 Millikin turnovers into 31 points. Lauren Huber had a double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Kate Palmer scored 20 points in 27 minutes for Illinois Wesleyan (10-6, 7-0 CCIW).

Rowan took over first place in the NJAC with a win and some help. Rowan (11-5, 8-1 NJAC) took care business with a 31-point third quarter that sent the Profs to a 89-58 win over TCNJ. Montclair State shut down second-place Kean, 54-39, as the Red Hawks held the Cougars to 11 made field goals against 18 turnovers.