Head coach Kelly Morrone consistently preaches defense and rebounding to her team. Today's result represented the epitome of her sermons.
Her Blue Streaks owned the paint and stifled Ohio Northern University's offense, leading to a 63-49 home victory and a tie atop the Ohio Athletic Conference standings.
"Our players worked their butts off and had fun playing defense," Morrone said. "We're fast and athletic, but we're not huge. We have to make teams chase us, and that means attention to detail in transition and trying to push the ball away from the basket. Our guards have to accomplish that, and they did. It's becoming a huge strength of ours to be that fast."
In a physical, heated battle between the OAC foes, Katlyn Spahar was the star of the show. The sophomore scored 27 points for the Blue and Gold, shooting 9-of-18 from the field and 4-of-6 from behind the arc.
Spahar's efforts helped grant the John Carroll University women's basketball squad its first home win over the Polar Bears since December 20, 2008.
"The Spahars are competitive. She's the youngest of the siblings, and she hates losing," Morrone said of Katlyn. "But she handled it in a mature way…She kept her emotions in check and she had big moments."
JCU and ONU are now tied for the OAC lead with identical 10-2 marks in league play.
"It's a great feeling, especially coming off of a loss at Heidelberg," Spahar said. "What defines us is what we do after a big loss, so I think today was a great team win.
The first half of the contest was characterized by physical play and lengthy runs. Thanks to an 18-0 burst, the Blue Streaks owned the first period.
The Blue and Gold utilized solid post play from Spahar to take an early 8-2 lead. The Lake Catholic grad scored six of JCU's first eight points, causing ONU to take a timeout with 16:30 left in the first.
The Polar Bears offense continued to sputter following the first timeout, triggering another timeout by ONU head coach Michele Durand with 15:06 left and JCU leading, 10-2.
Following the break, ONU's defense stiffened, prompting a 7-2 ONU run over the next three minute. Emily Taylor buried a trey at the 11 minute mark, spurring the JCU offense to a 7-0 run of its own, and another ONU timeout. At the halfway point of the first period, JCU held a 19-9 lead.
Continued ONU turnovers helped the Blue Streaks to add to the lead. JCU scored 11 more points before ONU finally ended its five minute scoring drought with a free throw by Lindsay Black. Following a miss on her second shot, Black grabbed the rebound and hit a layup to bring the score to 30-12 with less than six minutes left in the first half.
Black's three-point play stimulated a 9-0 ONU run, helping to narrow the visitors' deficit. Taylor put an end to the Polar Bears' surge JCU's with a free throw in the final minute. Spahar followed up with a big 3-pointer, giving her 17 points on the afternoon.
ONU's Amy Bullimore hit a layup with 13 seconds left in the half, making the score 34-20 heading into halftime.
Unlike the first half, the second half featured more back-and-forth scoring.
The Polar Bears came roaring out of the gate in the second. Carly Thomas nailed 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions (ONU's first treys of the day) and added a free throw, narrowing JCU's lead to seven.
Britt Lauck knocked down a trey, bringing ONU within six, but Switzler scored five consecutive points to extend the lead to 41-30. The Polar Bears burned a full timeout with 15:07 left to regroup.
After the teams exchanged buckets, Spahar sank a 3-pointer and Switzler scored four consecutive points to grant JCU a 50-34 lead with 10:30 remaining. Following a Daniella Rice layup, the Blue Streaks held a 52-34 advantage with 8:33 remaining. The Polar Bears used a full timeout to recuperate from JCU's 9-0 run.
Following the brief break, Lauck hit a 3-pointer to end ONU's six minute scoring drought. Spahar knocked down a bucket in response, but Kimes soon hit another trey for ONU. At the six minute mark, JCU held a 56-41 lead.
The Polar Bears refused to relent, but a Spahar 3-pointer at the four minute mark diminished ONU's resolve and upped JCU's lead to 59-41.
The final four minutes of the contest proved to be uneventful, as the Blue Streaks walked away with a critical 63-49 win.
Switzler quietly had a great day for JCU, finishing with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Taylor also chipped in 11 points and four assists.
The Blue Streaks will play next on Wednesday, as JCU hosts Otterbein University in a 7:30 p.m. contest.