UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The Blue Streaks took care of business for the second straight night.

A pair of 10-point runs in the first and second quarters steered the John Carroll University Women's Basketball team to a victory over the Heidelberg Student Princes at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.
 
The Blue Streaks improve to 2-0 on the season, with both wins coming against Heidelberg in consecutive nights.
 
"They were just so excited to play," Head Coach Beth Andrews said after JCU's first home game of the season. "They've been itching to go play against somebody else. They put the effort out there. They've worked very hard to be in basketball shape. I think it shows on the floor."
 
2019 OAC Player of the Year Nicole Heffington led the Blue Streaks with 20 points and 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Heffington now has 14 double-doubles in her career at John Carroll.
 
"Heff is on a mission. She always is," Andrews said. "I see it in her eyes. Even when she misses a shot, she races after it and gets it. She is a workhorse. I've been excited to see how she's stepped up as a senior leader, she has put the team on her shoulder and ran with it."
 
Kaelyn Underwood also earned her first career double-double with a 12-point, 10-rebound effort. Underwood also led the team with three blocks.
 
"Kaelyn is such a special player," Andrews said. "She's willing to be the bruiser down low and draw fouls for free throws. She really put in the work this offseason. She bought into her role, knowing what she'd be able to do. I am very happy with where she's at right now."
 
From the get-go, the Blue Streaks showed no signs of slowing down from last night's performance with a 10-0 start 4:35 into the first quarter of Saturday's game.
 
Heidelberg cracked the scoreboard 38 seconds later but Underwood answered with back-to-back field goals to improve the Blue and Gold's lead to 14-2. At the end of the first quarter, JCU led 16-4.
 
To begin the second stanza, the Student Princes found their way onto the scoreboard but once again, John Carroll responded with another 10-0 run. Heffington scored the first six points, adding to her first half game-high 12 points. Balfour completed the scoring run, a sign of what was left to come as the quarter neared its end.
 
Balfour caught fire with 3:51 to go by scoring eight of JCU's final 10 points, to increase the Blue Streaks' lead to 36-17 at the end of the first half.
 
The junior from Olmsted Falls scored a career-high 15 points — including 10 points all in the second quarter — in 18 minutes played.
 
"Sarah is a silent assassin. Sometimes you don't even realize when she scores," Andrews said. "She's one of our sauciest players. With the fake-step and the euro. She put in the work, knowing this would be her year to make an impact. She took advantage of that and it shows."
 
Coming out of the locker room, the Student Princes had a short-lived spark with five of the first 11 points scored in the second half; However, it was another Blue and Gold run that ensured Heidelberg did not inch any closer to the lead.
 
From the 8:37 mark until there was 4:08 left in the third quarter, the Blue Streaks outscored the Student Princes 19-5. After three quarters of play, JCU led 51-39.
 
In the fourth quarter, Heidelberg outpaced the Blue and Gold 25-19 but the home team's effort through the first 30 minutes of play secured the win. Junior Gabrielle Gevaudan scored seven of her nine points in the final eight minutes of play.
 
The Blue and Gold continued their feisty defense from last night's effort with 18 steals. Jaylen Hoffman had a team-best four swipes and senior Abby Adler added three.

John Carroll shot 49.2% from the field and outscored the 'Berg 56-34 in the paint. The Blue Streaks also scored 26 fast break points and forced 22 turnovers.
 
Next up, the Blue Streaks will travel to Alliance to play the Mount Union Purple Raiders at 7 p.m. on Jan. 29, at the The McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex.