For John Carroll, this was a game to forget. Or at least to remember never to repeat again.
The Blue Streaks were hoping to finish the first half of the Ohio Athletic Conference schedule strong, but a lackluster showing left JCU on the short end of a 78-63 loss to a young but aggressive Ohio Northern team.
Box Score
“We played bad basketball,’’ JCU coach Kristie Maravalli said after concluding a post-game team meeting. “We played uninspired.”
It was the second straight game without junior forward Sadie Zander, who is out with an ankle injury. Her absence was deeply felt, teammate Laura Gruber said.
“It’s hard not to have a leader on the court,’’ said Gruber, who scored 12 points against the Polar Bears. “We didn’t click as well.”
Zander leads the team in 3-point percentage (50 percent) and overall shooting percentage (48 percent) and averages 11 points per game.
Without her, John Carroll struggled on offense. But it was their defense that really hurt them.
The Streaks were outrebounded 53-42 in the game. In the first half, Ohio Northern had 10 more offensive rebounds than the Blue Streaks. Those second chances made up for the Polar Bears' 28 percent shooting before the break.
“You have to play better defense and we failed to do that today,’’ Maravalli said.
John Carroll had flashes of good basketball but nothing sustaining.
Senior Whitney Hamilton went on a run in the second half, sinking three straight baskets, including two 3-pointers. She finished with a team-high 15 points.
Her second-half flash brought the Blue Streaks within nine points with about 12 minutes to go.
But they couldn’t close the gap further.
Ohio Northern, without any seniors on their roster, shot 59 percent in the second half after a doing everything but shoot well in the first 20 minutes.
Nine players finished with four or more points, paced by reshman forward Joanna Snyder who had a team-high 15 points. Sophomore Jeanne Bockey, who was 3-3 from three-point range, added 13 points.
Maravalli said it’s tough without one of your top players but the team has to move forward.
“Anytime you're missing your one of your top scorers, it hurts,’’ she said. “But it’s certainly not an excuse.”