ANGOLA, Ind. -- The story of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship was who didn't play.

The story of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament opener was who did play. And play exceptionally.

Led by senior Sarah Balfour, John Carroll Women's Basketball roared for a hot start and never looked back en route to a dominant 100-56 victory over the Elizabethtown (PA) Blue Jays.

Balfour attained a career-high 18 points in the first half alone on Friday after being limited to 4 minutes in the OAC Championship a week ago. The Olmsted Falls native finished with a game-high 24 points.

"I was just excited to get out and play again, knowing this could have been my last time ever playing," said Balfour. "I wanted to leave everything on the floor and play with my best friends."

Also returning to the floor was Nicole Heffington. In 15 minutes, the All-American almost hit a double-double, contributing 9 points and 8 rebounds. 

"She's working her way back, but I'll take her at whatever percentage," said Head Coach Beth Andrews '15. "With her experience as a grad student, she's capable of so much. You saw it tonight. This was her first game back, and she almost tallied a double-double. I'm impressed with her willingness, and she was cheering on all of her teammates, and communicating to younger kids who were playing. She showed her maturity, and I hope she feels a bit better every day."

The NCAA Tournament opener represented a full-circle moment for Andrews. The second-year head coach played in two NCAA Tournaments as a player, and was an assistant coach during the team's last appearance in 2019. 

Tonight, she coached her first NCAA postseason affair, and her team did a flawless job. The Blue Streaks became just the 28th team in NCAA Division III history to reach the century mark in the tournament. 

"It was great. I loved it as a player, loved it as an assistant, and loved it this time as a head coach. This is why you play basketball," said Andrews. "I'm really proud of this group. The effort and energy the entire team came out with was great. It was a focused and fun win."

The Blue Streaks played like a team hungry for a victory after losing the OAC title game. The Blue Streaks got the first points of the game by Abby Adler and never looked back. Balfour's drives and an outside presence established early provided space inside, as Hannah Bouchy drained a clutch early triple. Soon after, Balfour went on a personal 5-0 run to push the score to 16-7 JCU.

The Blue Streaks' lead never again dwindled below nine points.

Kaelyn Underwood and Olivia Nagy took advantage of the extra space created by Balfour and the guards. As a result, JCU's forwards dominated the rebound battle. A late Jaylen Hoffmann bucket pushed the score to 22-9 at the end of the first quarter. 

Just 10 seconds into the second quarter, Balfour continued her assault on the scoreboard, hitting a 3-pointer. Adler joined in the fun with a triple of her own. A 4-0 Underwood run stretched the lead to 20 points, and led to an Elizabethtown timeout. JCU's 12-3 jaunt to begin the quarter set the margin 34-12 at the 6:20 mark. 

John Carroll continued to excel on offense as the quarter continued. Heffington and Maddie Pietrowski aided the offense late in the stanza. The Blue Streaks headed into the break with a more than comfortable advantage of 48-25. 

"We had scorers all over the floor, we moved the ball well," said Andrews. "Balfour went on a run, Kaelyn had the dive passes and secured 6 offensive rebounds. We had 24 second-chance points. Being able to get the ball, kick it out, reset, and refocus allowed us the opportunity to do so. We're not the best 3-point shooting team, and we hit seven tonight. I'll take seven any night. Having everyone on the floor be a threat was the key tonight."

At halftime, the Blue Streaks possessed a lopsided 33-20 margin in rebounds, including 12 offensive boards alone. Nagy snagged 11 rebounds in the first half by herself, while Underwood contributed eight.  

The Blue & Gold didn't ease up at the start of the third, with a 6-2 opening run, powered by points in the paint. Balfour and Nagy continued to be outstanding as the quarter progressed. Andrews got the bench involved, and Halle Landies took advantage of the time on the court. The sophomore sank a couple 3-point buckets, scoring 8 points in the final 4:37 of the period to help push the score to 81-32. 

JCU's youngsters got some playing time late in the fourth quarter, gaining valuable experience. Olivia Giunta earned the honors of scoring the 100th point with 2:44 to play on a putback layup. The Blue Streaks became the 14th team to hit triple digits in an NCAA D-III Women's Basketball Tournament game in the 21st Century. The 2021-22 Blue Streaks become the first JCU team in program history to notch 100 points in a game twice in one season. 

The Blue Streaks earned the program's second NCAA postseason win its fourth trip, the first since the 2013-14 season. Andrews (nee Switzler) scored 8 points and 8 rebounds in that game, a 74-62 conquest of Texas Lutheran. 
 
Kaelyn Underwood tallied her second career double-double, her first since January 23, 2021 vs. Heidelberg. The junior finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists.

"Knowing this is one of the last time I'll get to play with some of my best friends, the seniors, and the grad students, I knew I had to try my hardest and do what I could do," said Underwood. "With Heff limited, I knew I had to excel. We were all playing for each other, and that's when we play the best. We had a lot of good assists, good drives, and kicks."

Olivia Nagy enjoyed another banner evening. The senior center notched 12 points and 18 rebounds, adding 4 blocks. 

"It's beautiful having her. Most teams we saw this season like to triple-team her," said Balfour. "So it leaves the perimeter wide open. It's nice to have her in there. She draws a lot of attention. She knows when to kick it out and when to score."

Halle Landies reached double figures for the first time in her JCU career with 10 points. Adler's 7-point, 7-rebound, 3-assist effort was also impressive. 

"You don't get to come to the NCAA Tournament every year, so having Halle and Maddie and Olivia [Giunta] step up and put points on the board is an experience they'll never forget. These seniors have been speaking to the young players about the end goal and doing your job for the first 25 games. Now that they have that experience, they'll be able to speak about that experience to incoming freshmen. It keeps the program moving in the right direction."

The Blue Streaks will now advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament to face the winner of Trine and Immaculata.

Postgame Interviews with Beth Andrews, Sarah Balfour, and Kaelyn Underwood