COLUMBUS, Ohio - Leading 55-54 with nine seconds remaining, Ohio Dominican women's basketball team denied Northern Michigan's last shot attempt as time expired to snap their six-game losing streak and pick up the program's first ever GLIAC victory.

Chelsea Lyons scored 10 of the Wildcats' final 12 points, including two free throws that knotted the game at 54-54 with 1:11 remaining, but a free throw by Meredith Fox (Jr./Springboro, OH) with 59 ticks left proved to be the difference as the Panthers closed out 2010 on a high note, improving to 2-8 overall and 1-5 in the GLIAC. NMU falls to 6-5 and 1-3 in the conference.

The Panthers appeared to take control with 11:03 left as they extended their lead to their largest of the game at 40-31. However, the Wildcats, ignited by 18 second-half points by Lyons over the final 11:33, were able to claw back with a 10-0 run and take their largest lead since midway through the first at 50-46 with 3:19 on the clock. A 3-point play by Fox and layup by Abby Glover (Jr./Centerville, OH) with under two to play put ODU back on top 54-52.

Eight unanswered points by Northern Michigan over the first 1:42 of the second half allowed them to knot the score at 26-26, but ODU quickly responded with a 7-0 run of their own to reclaim the lead, 33-26.

After tying the game at 18-18 at the 6:16 mark, ODU scored the final eight points of the first half as part of 15-3 run over the final 12:09 to claim their largest halftime advantage of the season, 26-18. Summer Hale (Sr./Galena, OH) and Katelyn Stuckey (Fr./Millersburg, OH) each recorded four points during the stretch.

Glover led ODU for the third straight game, recording her first double-double of the season, and just the second by a Panther, with 13 points and a season-high 10 rebounds, while Hale reached double figures for the seventh time this season with 11. Stuckey finished with a career-high eight points on 4-of-5 shooting.

Lyons finished with a game-high 21 points for the Wildcats. Kellie Rietveld finished with 15 and Hillary Bowling had 10.

ODU returns home for the second game of their three-game homestand next Monday, Jan. 3 at 5:30 p.m. as they step out of conference, welcoming Ohio Valley (W.Va.) to Alumni Hall.

Contact: Bryan Desch
deschb@ohiodominican.edu