Lynsey Warren Interview  |  Melissa Scherpenberg Interview

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican women's basketball team never trailed Saturday afternoon in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup as they defeated the Lake Erie Storm 67-56 on Senior Day at Alumni Hall.

With the win, the Panthers improve to 11-14 overall and 8-13 in the GLIAC. The loss drops Lake Erie to 10-17 overall and 5-16 in conference play.

The Panthers were led by sophomore forward Melissa Scherpenberg (Cincinnati, OH) with 12 points and eight rebounds. Freshman forward Madi Rittinger (Dayton, OH) added 10 points and eight rebounds for ODU. Also, freshman guard Lauren Bates (Hilliard, OH) tied a career- high with her 10 rebounds. Senior guard Mykeila Mast (Millersburg, OH) added four points in her final home game.

The Panthers got off to a quick start finding themselves up 7-2 in the opening minutes but Lake Erie was able to climb back into the game with a 5-1 run to cut the Panther lead to one, 9-8 with 15:38 remaining in the opening half.

ODU used a strong defensive effort over the next eight minutes to take control of the game, holding the Storm to just one made basket over that span to take a 25-12 lead with 7:12 remaining in the first half.

The Panthers continued to play well, taking their largest lead of the opening half, 33-17, with 2:04 remaining and went into the half with a 33-21 lead.

Lake Erie started the second half with full court pressure on defense and they were able to cut the lead to 10 points with 15:00 minutes to play, but a 12-2 run for the Panthers gave them a comfortable 49-29 lead with 10:53 remaining. The Storm were never able to threaten the Panther lead down the stretch on route to a 67-56 win for ODU.

The Panthers were strong defensively throughout the game, holding Lake Erie to 33.9 percent shooting (20-of-59) and just 4-of-20 (20.0 percent) from beyond the arc. ODU also had a decisive 52-33 rebounding advantage while shooting 40.3 percent from the field and assisting on 18 of their 25 made field goals.

ODU will play their final game of the season next Thursday, February 27 at Tiffin University. The Panthers won the first meeting against the Dragons, 69-55. Tip-off will be at 6 p.m. at the Gillmor Student Center.