COLUMBUS, Ohio – An 11-0 second half run propelled Ohio Dominican's women's basketball team to a 75-56 victory over Hillsdale on Saturday, its largest margin of victory in over four seasons.

The Panthers would put up 45 second-half points, shooting 51.7 percent from the field (15-of-29) and 92.9 percent from the free throw line (13-of-14) in the game's final 20 minutes.

Junior guard Kacee Hockenberry (Haviland, Ohio) had 18 points and six rebounds, while freshman forward Madi Rittinger (Dayton, Ohio) added 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Freshman Tori Beth Leader (West Portsmouth, Ohio) added 11 points and five rebounds while sophomore forward Melissa Scherpenberg (Cincinnati, Ohio) had nine points and 10 boards.

ODU's defense limited Hillsdale to just 33.3 percent shooting for the game (18-of-54), including just 3-of-19 from beyond the arc (15.8 percent). The Panthers had a commanding 48-35 edge in rebounding and turned 18 Charger turnovers into 21 points.

Leading 36-32 five minutes into the second half, the Panthers started their run with a free throw by freshman Lauren Bates (Hilliard, Ohio) and a triple from Leader. Rittinger then knocked in consecutive jumpers, and freshman Kayla Cook (Westerville, Ohio) drilled a three-pointer to stake ODU to a 47-32 lead with 10:37 to play.

Hillsdale drew within 12 points on several occasions, but the Panthers maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the half and led by as much as 20 points down the stretch.

With the win, ODU improved to 6-8 (3-7 GLIAC), while the Chargers fell to 5-9 (4-6).

The 19-point win was the biggest for the Panthers since claiming a 67-44 victory over Johnson & Wales on Feb. 26, 2010. ODU's previous largest margin of victory in a GLIAC game was 18 (76-58 over Grand Valley on Dec. 1, 2011).

Hockenberry went 11-of-12 from the free throw line two days after a 12-for-13 performance at the stripe, and overall the Panthers hit 18-of-22 free throws (81.8 percent) and shot 40.9 percent from the field (27-of-66).

ODU also had 18 assists on the 27 made field goals, just one shy of matching its season-high that it set on Thursday.

The first half was tightly contested, with five ties and four lead changes as neither team led by my more than four points in the initial 18 minutes of action. Hillsdale led 25-24 with 4:44 to play, but the Panthers would score the final six points of the frame on a Scherpenberg layup, free throw makes by Hockenberry and Bates, and another layin by Scherpenberg to go into the half with a 30-25 advantage.

Ohio Dominican hits the road on Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. contest with Walsh.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu