COLUMBUS, Ohio – An 11-0 first half run jumpstarted Ohio Dominican's women's basketball team to a 79-67 victory over Walsh Thursday night in GLIAC play in Alumni Hall.

The Panthers limited the Cavaliers to 33.3 percent shooting, turned 13 Walsh turnovers into 21 points, and had a 26-2 advantage in fast break points as ODU snapped a six game losing skid.

Four players scored in double figures and seven scored six or more points in a balanced offensive effort for the Panthers (5-12, 2-9 GLIAC). Senior guard Kacee Hockenberry (Haviland, Ohio) had 17 points, a season-high six assists and five rebounds, while sophomore guard Lauren Bates (Hilliard, Ohio) tallied a season-best 14 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists.

ODU missed seven of its first eight shots but heated up from the field after that point, turning an 8-4 deficit into a 15-8 lead eight minutes into the game. Bates, sophomore Kayla Cook (Westerville, Ohio) and classmate Tori Beth Leader (West Portsmouth, Ohio) hit three straight shots, Hockenberry made two free throws and sophomore Lindsey Blanford (Xenia, Ohio) drilled a three from the left wing to cap the barrage.

Hockenberry's layup stretched the lead to double figures at 21-11 with 9:52 left, and a layup by junior Melissa Scherpenberg (Cincinnati, Ohio) and a triple by Leader doubled up the Cavaliers at 32-16 with 5:55 in the half. The Panthers would take a 35-25 lead into the break as they hit 13 of their final 19 shots (68.4 percent) from the field in the half.

The Panthers opened up a 17 point lead on four occasions in the second half, with the last coming at the 11:14 mark on a jumper by sophomore Madi Rittinger (Dayton, Ohio) that made the score 53-36. The Cavaliers drew as near as eight, 59-51, with 4:48.

ODU answered with a 9-1 run, though, hitting five straight free throws to go along with a Hockenberry layup and a Leader jump shot to seal the win.

The Panthers shot 46.8 percent from the field (29-of-62), their second best percentage of the season. The Panthers assisted on 21 of their 29 field goals, one shy of a season-high.

Rittinger scored 12 points and had three rejections and Leader added 10 off the bench. Sophomore Jackie Oestreich (Brighton, Mich.) had six points and a career-high eight rebounds, senior Micaela Liddane (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) had seven points and five assists and Scherpenberg finished with six points and seven rebounds in just 14 minutes.

Ohio Dominican hits the road for a 1 p.m. matchup at Malone on Saturday.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu