CEDARVILLE, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican women's basketball team returned to Great Midwest Athletic Conference play Thursday evening, but fell on the road at Cedarville, 77-55.

Four players scored seven or more points for the Panthers, paced by 15 points from senior Brittleigh Macaulay (Big Prairie, Ohio). Macaulay netted six-of-seven field goal attempts. Junior Angela Troyer (Sugarcreek, Ohio) registered 10 points and led the squad with three assists and three steals.

A trio of Panthers tied for the team-high in rebounds with four, including senior Alexa Fisher (Powell, Ohio). Fisher added nine points as well. Sophomore Kennedy Schlabach (Millersburg, Ohio) pitched in seven points and four rebounds. Senior Hannah Clark (Glenmont, Ohio) also corralled four boards.

ODU got off to a fast start, making three of its first  four field goal attempts to capture a 7-5 lead less than two minutes in. The Black & Gold though, were then outscored 23-7 the remainder of the quarter, which included a 21-0 Cedarville spurt.

Macaulay had seven first quarter points on three-of-three shooting, which included a layup during the Panthers' 7-2 period-ending scoring run. The Yellow Jackets shot 72 percent over the first 10 minutes, making 13-of-18 field goals, en route to a 28-14 edge.

The Panthers trailed by double-digits for most of the second quarter but a three-point play from Schlabach cut the deficit to eight points, 42-34, with 2:14 remaining before the intermission. Cedarville though, held ODU scoreless the rest of the way and added seven points to take a 49-34 advantage into the break.

The second half saw ODU post its lowest scoring half of the season, tallying just 21 points over the final 20 minutes. As a result, the Panthers were held to a new single game scoring low at 55 points.

Cedarville cooled off from the field in the second half but still boasted a .508 overall shooting clip. ODU finished with a .371 field goal percentage. The Panthers (5-9, 1-4 G-MAC) were outshot for the fifth consecutive game. The Yellow Jackets (11-3, 4-1 G-MAC) also enjoyed a 40-33 edge in total rebounds.

Ohio Dominican will return to action at 2 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 4, at Alderson Broaddus.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu