Box Score

Baldwin Wallace BW 10-5,8-4 OAC

John Carroll JCU 13-2,10-2 OAC

Baldwin Wallace BW

10-5,8-4 OAC

Final

Mar. 06, 2021

John Carroll JCU

13-2,10-2 OAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Baldwin Wallace BW	9	24	18	20	71
John Carroll JCU	23	16	26	18	83

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 3/6/2021 7:20:00 PM | Kyle Kelly, Senior Staff Writer

CHAMPIONS: Women's Basketball Bests BW to Capture 2nd Tourney Title

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Some stories are just meant to have a great ending.

Shortly after the John Carroll University Women's Basketball Team lost in the 2020 Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship to Baldwin Wallace, the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the United States and postponed sports in the OAC until the new year.

It wasn't until then that the Blue Streaks knew that they'd even have an opportunity to avenge last season's loss to Baldwin Wallace and earn a second OAC title in three years.

All John Carroll needed was a chance. They got it and ran with it.

The Blue Steaks put the cherry on top of a 13-2 season with an 83-71 victory over the Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets in the 2021 Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center on March 6.

"With our six seniors this year, there was just no way they were going to let anyone take this from them," Head Coach Beth Andrews '15 said after the game. "They demanded a lot from each other. They demanded a lot from the team.

"I am just so happy for them. They went from only winning eight games their freshman year, to now playing in the OAC Championship game three years in a row."

It was junior Olivia Nagy that ensured the senior class ended their careers on a high note.

Nagy (22 points, 13 rebounds, 10 blocks) authored the script with her second career triple double. Following tonight's performance, Nagy is now only one of two players in Division III to record a triple-double this season.

"Liv did a great job. She protected the paint and had to go up against one of the best post players in the OAC. She had a task in front of her and took care of business. She did a great job of owning and protecting the paint."

Twenty-two points was also a season-high in the scoring department for Nagy.

"I was just trying to give it all that I have," Nagy said. "It was our last game of the season. I wanted to play for my seniors and win that OAC Championship."

For the second consecutive game, the Blue Streaks scored the first 12 points and put themselves in the perfect position to win the game. Not only did a 12-0 run after tipoff help JCU get off to a fast start, but it also left the Yellow Jackets trailing for the entirety of the game.

"It's incredible but also extremely hard to do," Andrews said. "You want to keep the lead so bad that sometimes you get tense and that's where some of our mistakes came from in the second quarter. They just want to play and get going so bad.

"Warm-up is hard for them because it's an hour before the game. All they want to do is get on the court. Their feet are chopping pregame. I am happy that they came out strong again."

After the first quarter, John Carroll led 23-9. Baldwin Wallace missed its first five shots and shot 18.8% from the field in the opening 10 minutes. Meanwhile, the Blue Streaks made 71.4% of their shots, which played a big role in the team shooting a season-high 56.4% from the field for the game.

Baldwin Wallace wasn't going down without a fight.

In the second quarter, the Yellow Jackets swarmed back with a 24-16 scoring output that left the Blue Streaks with only a 39-33 advantage at the half.

Hannah Bouchy was imperative for JCU in the first two quarters, as she recorded a then career-high 11 points. With three seconds to play in the opening quarter, Bouchy drained her 11th 3-pointer of the season.

Bouchy's finished with 13 points, which marked the only time this season all five Blue Streaks starters have scored in double figures. She also notched five assists.

"The thing about Hannah Bouchy that people probably don't know is that her stat-line doesn't always speak for her, but she is really the voice of this team," Andrews said. "She keeps everybody calm and in control. Her energy is what keeps us in games or what gives us more in games.

To begin the third quarter, Baldwin Wallace cut JCU's lead to three points — the only time except the beginning it was a one-possession ball game.

That's when the threes began to rain in through the hoop.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Abby Adler and Dani Carlson aided the Blue Streaks in sparking an 11-4 run that left plenty of breathing room for the remaining 16:31 of the game.

"I was just shooting if I was open," Adler said. "If I wasn't open, Dani probably was. I gave Dani the ball."

Adler and Carlson contributed 13 and 14 points, respectively. Adler made all three of her 3-point attempts and Carlson finished 3-6 from beyond the arc.

"It's a good day when almost all of your shots go in," Carlson said. "It brings the team energy."

For the game, the Blue and Gold made 57.9% of their shots from deep.

"They did a great job of not letting the zone affect them. BW went to a 2-3 zone and we had a lot of ball movement. They were patient. They weren't going down and just jacking up threes," Andrews said. "Our post did a great job of setting them up. When they're confident and they're hitting shots, we're a really hard team to guard."

The Blue Streaks scored a game-best 26 points in the third quarter and went ahead 65-51.

For the final 10 minutes, both teams went shot-for-shot; however, JCU's lead held firm.

The 12-point win scored John Carroll its second OAC Tournament Championship in program history. It also achieved the first time ever John Carroll has beaten Baldwin Wallace three times in a single season.

Nicole Heffington finished with 15 points, six rebounds and a team-high six assists, adding yet another great stat-line to a spectacular season.

"This was definitely a season full of uncertainty," Heffington said. "To make it through the entire season and end it on a high note is just so special."

John Carroll played every one of its 15 games this season in the midst of a pandemic.

"Due to COVID, we had no idea how far that we would make it," Carlson said. "To make it all of the way through the season without a scare was just huge."

"Not many teams get to end their season on a win," Adler added.

2021 is the first season ever that the John Carroll University Women's Basketball team has ended its season on a win since joining the OAC.

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