ADA — The Ohio Northern women's basketball team defeated Ohio Wesleyan, 64-42, in the final game of the Thanksgiving Classic at the ONU Sports Center on Sunday evening.
Junior Joanna Snyder scored a season-high 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting to help the Polar Bears improve to 5-1, while the Battling Bishops dropped to 2-4.
Senior Kara Dysert was two rebounds away from her second straight double-double, notching 10 points and eight boards, while junior Morgan Dumbaugh scored 11 points.
Today's game marked the second time this season the Polar Bears have allowed 42 points or less, not allowing any OWU player to score more than seven points.
The Battling Bishops jumped out to an 8-7 lead early in the game, but that was the last time they led. ONU responded with a 13-0 run capped off by a layup from sophomore Sara Kocian to take a 20-8 lead.
The teams went back and forth for the remainder of the half, before both sophomore Cenzie Yoder and Snyder sank pairs of free throws to give ONU a 39-24 lead heading into the break.
ONU added another 8-0 run to start the second half, including four straight points from Snyder, to take a game-high 23-point lead with 15:54 to play.
Ohio Wesleyan received a 3-pointer from Tavia Croom to cut the lead to 59-42 with 6:04 to play, but ONU pulled away with a 5-0 run to end the game, thanks to a layup from Dysert and a trey from sophomore Morgan Sperry.
Yoder totaled nine points, seven rebounds and five assists for ONU, while freshman Jordan Kimes added seven points, three rebounds and two blocks.
"We had a great team effort today; we played well on both sides of the ball," head coach Michele Durand commented. "We're happy to come out with two wins at home this weekend."
The Polar Bears dominated the rebounding battle 42-26, including a 15-9 advantage on the offensive boards.
Northern outshot OWU from the field, 25-of-55 (45.5 percent) to 17-of-52 (32.7 percent), as well as from the free throw line, 11-of-16 (68.8 percent) to 3-of-8 (37.5 percent).
Ohio Northern will open up Ohio Athletic Conference play on Saturday, when the team hosts Muskingum in a 3 p.m. game at the ONU Sports Center.