COLUMBUS, Ohio – Behind four scorers in double figures, the Ohio Dominican women's basketball team never trailed, cruising to victory over Saint Joseph's, 74-48, in a non-conference game on Saturday afternoon inside Alumni Hall.

The win for ODU improves their record to .500 as they are now 2-2. SJC fell to 0-3 with all three games coming against GLIAC opponents.

ODU was led in scoring by senior Kacee Hockenberry (Haviland, OH) who scored 17 points on eight-of-eleven shooting. Junior Melissa Scherpenberg (Cincinnati, OH) recorded her fourth double-double of the season, and her sixth in the past seven games dating back to last season. Scherpenberg scored 12 points, and fell just one rebound shy of tying her career high, capturing 17 rebounds.

Two freshmen also added to the Panther offense with Darian Rose (Fort Loramie, OH) and Megan Eyre (Fayetteville, OH) each scoring 10 or more points. Rose ended the game with 15 points and a team high five assists. Eyre scored 10 points, going 8-8 from the charity stripe.   

The Panthers used a hot start, one which saw the Black and Gold jump out to a 17-0 lead after the opening eight minutes of action. The Panther lead continued to grow as they held a 31-2 lead after a layup from Eyre, with 5:42 remaining in the opening half. ODU took a 36-18 lead into the break.

In the second half, the Panthers kept a comfortable lead, as the closest the Pumas would get would be 36-23 with 19:04 left in the game. ODU took its largest lead of the game at 30, when a 12-0 run capped off by two free throws from Kayla Cook (Westerville, OH) made the score 68-38 with just under 3:30 to play. ODU was able to score on six Eyre free throws to take a 74-48 victory.

The Black and Gold shot just 46.3% from the field, but the Panther defense held the Pumas to a 16-62 (25.8%) shooting performance. ODU caused 23 SJC turnovers and recorded 11 steals, with four coming from Hockenberry. Overall, the Panthers shot 20-24 (83.3%) from the foul line.

ODU held advantages in points in the paint, 34-22, as well as, bench points, 30-18.

The Panthers will look to build on their momentum as they go on the road for their final non-conference contest of the season next weekend. ODU will travel to play Indianapolis at 5:00 p.m. next Saturday, November 29.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu