CANTON, Ohio – Led by a strong defensive effort and a balanced offensive attack, Ohio Dominican's women's basketball team roared to a 68-53 GLIAC victory at Malone on Saturday.

The Panthers shot 45.0 percent from the field (27-of-60), while a combination of man-to-man and zone defenses stifled the Pioneers, who shot just 32.2 percent from the field (19-of-59).

ODU, which won its first road game of the season, improved to 6-12 (3-9 GLIAC), while the Pioneers fell to 7-9 (5-7).

The Panthers controlled the paint, outscoring Malone 38-14 inside. Two days after having a 26-2 edge in fast break points in a win over Walsh, ODU enjoyed a 15-2 edge in that category this afternoon.

Senior Kacee Hockenberry (Haviland, Ohio) led all scorers with 18 points, hitting 8-of-15 from the field. Junior Melissa Scherpenberg (Cincinnati, Ohio) tallied 12 points and a game-best eight rebounds off the bench, while sophomore Madi Rittinger (Dayton, Ohio) added 12 points.

Sophomore Lauren Bates (Hilliard, Ohio) scored 10 points and classmate Jackie Oestreich (Brighton, Mich.) added eight points and six boards.

Both teams started strong offensively, as ODU had a 12-11 lead in the opening five-plus minutes of action. Malone scored eight straight points to grab a 19-12 advantage, but the Panthers ripped off 11 unanswered points to respond.

Jumpers by Hockenberry and Bates and a Rittinger layup brought the Panthers within 19-18, and three free throws by senior Micaela Liddane (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) and Bates made it 21-19. Another Rittinger layup closed the run to give the Panthers a 23-19 lead with 3:10 to play in the half, and ODU took a 30-26 lead into the locker room.

The Panthers scored the first six points of the second half, with Oestreich, Bates and Hockenberry scoring early to give ODU a 36-26 advantage. The lead continued to swell as Oestreich knocked down a jumper from the free throw line, then found Hockenberry on a fast break layup to give the Panthers a 46-29 lead with 14 minutes to play in the game.

ODU, which hit eight of its first 12 shots from the field in the second half, would push its lead to as much as 22 points in the second half and led by double figures for the final 17 minutes of the game.

The Panthers committed a season-low nine turnovers and turned 15 Malone miscues into 21 points.

Rittinger tied a career high with three steals and also swatted three shots. She has two or more blocks in 10 games this season.

Ohio Dominican returns home to host Ashland at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Alumni Hall.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu