TIFFIN, Ohio – Ohio Dominican's women's basketball team raced to a big lead early and had to sweat out some anxious moments late, but held on to beat Tiffin 81-75 in the regular season finale.

The Panthers won the last three games of the season to finish with a record of 11-17 overall (8-14 GLIAC), while the Dragons finish at 7-21 (6-16 GLIAC).

Senior guard Kacee Hockenberry (Haviland, Ohio) closed her magnificent career at Ohio Dominican with 25 points, including four big free throws down the stretch to close the win. She finished her four years at ODU with 1,425 points and made 104 starts. She ranks sixth on ODU's career scoring list.

Senior guard Micaela Liddane (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) also had a strong game in her collegiate finale, dishing out seven assists. She closes the year tied for second in the conference in assists.

ODU saw a 15-point second half lead cut to just two on a pair of occasions in the final 75 seconds. Sophomore Lauren Bates (Hilliard, Ohio) put back a missed shot to give the Panthers a 77-73 lead with 45 seconds, and after a Tiffin bucket, Hockenberry sank two free throws to make it 79-75 with 29.4 seconds to play.

The defense forced a Tiffin miss, and sophomore Kayla Cook (Westerville, Ohio) went to the floor to grab the rebound and call timeout. Hockenberry was then fouled again and made two final free throws to account for the final margin.

ODU shot 30-of-61 from the field (49.2 percent) and went 18-of-21 (85.7 percent) from the free throw line. They assisted on 17 baskets, outscored Tiffin 28-8 in the paint, and converted 19 Dragon turnovers into 23 points.

The Panthers held on despite Tiffin hitting a season-best 12 three-pointers. The Dragons started 11-of-15 from behind the line and finished 12-of-22 (54.5 percent). They went just 10-of-40 from inside the line, though, and shot 35.5 percent from the field.

Junior forward Melissa Scherpenberg (Cincinnati, Ohio) notched her 12th double double of the year with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward Jackie Oestreich (Brighton, Mich.) set new career highs with 16 points and nine boards, making 8-of-13 from the field.

The Panthers raced out to a 16-2 lead in the first half, holding Tiffin to just 1-of-11 shooting and forcing seven turnovers in the early going. A Hockenberry jumper in transition and a jumper by Oestreich made it 10-2. Bates finished off a layup on the break after a Liddane steal, sophomore Madi Rittinger (Dayton, Ohio) tossed a pass inside to Scherpenberg for layup, and two Scherpenberg free throws staked the Panthers to that 14 point lead.

Freshman guard Megan Eyre (Fayetteville, Ohio) had a nifty up and under finish for a layup to make it 20-4, and two Liddane free throws gave ODU their biggest lead at 26-8 at the 7:39 mark.

Hockenberry drilled a three from the right wing to keep ODU on top 34-21 with 3:45 left, but Tiffin closed the half on a 14-5 run to cut the score to 39-35 at the break.

Oestreich and Scherpenberg went to work early in the second half. Both scored inside on consecutive possessions, Oestreich made a jumper from a feed from Scherpenberg, then scored inside on back to back possessions to make it 49-37.

Threes by freshman guard Darian Rose (Fort Loramie, Ohio) and Scherpenberg kept the Panthers in front by double figures, and Scherpenberg came up with a steal and went coast to coast for a layup that gave the Panthers their biggest lead of the half, 65-50, with 8:45 left.

ODU still led by 11, 72-61, at the final media timeout, but Tiffin scored nine straight points to draw within 72-70 with just over three minutes left. Hockenberry drove baseline, rolled a layup and drew a foul to bump the lead back to five, but Tiffin would again be able to cut it two on a pair of trips down the stretch.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu