COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio Dominican's women's basketball team stood toe-to-toe with Lake Superior State, the No. 2 team in the GLIAC North Division standings, Thursday evening in Alumni Hall, but could not overcome an extended scoring drought in the second half as the Lakers pulled away for the 55-46 win.

The Lakers pull within one game of first-place Michigan Tech, improving to 12-5 and 9-2 in the conference. With their third-straight setback, the Panthers fall to 4-13 and 2-9 in the GLIAC.

A layup by Tracy Snider (Jr./Lancaster, OH) with 17:24 left in the second put ODU ahead 30-26, however the Panthers, behind seven straight missed shots, failed to register a point over the next 7:09, allowing LSSU to string together a 12-0 run and go up 38-30. Christina Pentaudi (Fr./Dayton, OH) broke the ice with her second three-pointer of the game at the 11:17 mark to pull the Panthers within five, 38-33, but ODU could get no closer than seven points the rest of the way as the Lakers finished the half shooting 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from the field and 76.9 percent (10-of-13) at the free throw line.

Lake Superior State began the game connecting on their first four shots and 6-of-9 overall in building a 14-5 advantage just over six minutes into the first half. After hitting just one of their first five three-point attempts, the Panthers, led by Snider's three treys, nailed five of the next eight triples over the final 13:34 to close the half on a 20-10 run. Meredith Fox (Jr./Springboro, OH) ended her shooting slump from behind the arc with a trey at the 1:10 mark to give ODU their first lead of the evening and allowing the Panthers to enter the half leading, 25-24.

Snider finished with the game-high three triples to lead ODU off the bench with 13 points. Fox added nine on 6-of-6 shooting from the charity stripe. As a unit, the Panthers committed a season-low six turnovers and finished with advantages in bench points (20-3) and points off the fast break (7-0)

The Lakers, led by Cassy Schemberger and Maria Blazejewski, outscored the Panthers 36-12 in points in the paint. Schemberger, the GLIAC's leader in field goal percentage, paced the Lakers with game-highs of 18 points (9-of-14 shooting) and 13 rebounds, while Blazejewski finished with 12.

ODU concludes their three-game homestand at 3 p.m. this Saturday, Jan. 29 as the Panthers host Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) at Alumni Hall.

Contact: Bryan Desch
deschb@ohiodominican.edu