Oberlin College Athletics

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In the final matchup of the holiday break, a double-double performance from sophomore Olivia Canning wasn't enough for Oberlin College women's basketball as the Catholic University of America earned the 68-41 victory.

Just over 48-hours from their win over Bridgewater State on New Year's Eve, the Yeowomen had trouble finding an offensive groove, which would ultimately be their undoing on Monday in our nation's captiol.

Canning led the offensive charge with 11 points (4-of-7; 52.1%) and 10 blocks, while equaling fellow second-year Alex Stipano with eight rebounds. Canning's double-double performance marks a career-high in rejections and her seventh career double-double. The Sudbury, Massachusetts native claims Monday's performance in the loss as the fourth double-double of the year.

Stipano finished with 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting to accompany her eight boards and three steals.

As a unit, the Crimson and Gold had a rough night from the field, posting 27.1% on 16-of-59 shooting. The Cardinals cashed in on a 40.7% (24-of-59)-performance from the floor and hit on 6-of-11 from three-range and 14-18 (77.8%) from the charity stripe.

The Yeowomen grabbed the lead early when Stipano drained a three-pointer at the 6:21 mark. The Crimson and Gold extended the lead to four, 10-6, with a layup from Canning halfway through the opening quarter, but the Cardinals hung around and quickly overturned the Oberlin advantage.

Knotted at 11-11 with 2:52 remaining, The Cards closed the frame with a 6-2 run to carry a 17-13 lead into the second. CUA rode the offensive momentum and swung out to a 10-point advantage, 23-13, in the initial minutes of the second quarter. A short jumper from Abby Andrews stopped the bleeding and trimmed the deficit to 8, but only momentarily.

Andrews finished with four points, seven rebounds and two assists against the Cardinals coming off of her All-Tournament Team honors at the WPI Holiday Invite over the weekend.

Fouls and turnovers were costly for the Yeowomen in the closing minutes of the half as the Cards pushed out to an 18-point lead, 33-15, with 3:08 left. A trio of buckets from Canning, Tyler Parlor and Andrews dialed the deficit back to 13, 34-21, at the intermission.

A lack of offensive consistency and a collection of fouls continued to provide problems for the Crimson and Gold in the second half as CUA jumped out to a 24-point lead, 48-24, with 1:16 remaining in the third quarter. The Cardinals capitalized on Oberlin mishaps with 25 points off of turnovers compared to the Yeowomen's 13 off of CUA giveaways.

A basket from Canning, a pair of free throws and a three-ball from Ally Driscoll, en route to a five-point, four assist, one steal performance, hacked the Oberlin deficit back to 16 in the opening 3:05 of the fourth. From there, the Cardinals used an 18-7 run to close the game and hand the Yeowomen their seventh blemish of the year, pushing them to 4-7 overall.

The Yeowomen will return to the Buckeye State and open a six-game stretch with North Coast Athletic Conference opponents over the next two weeks. The Yeowomen will have to battle another quick turnaround with the first matchup just two days away.

The Yeowomen will host the Hiram College Terriers on Wednesday, January 4. Tipoff from inside the cozy confines of Philips Gymnasium between the Yeowomen and Terriers is slated for 8 p.m.; the second half of midweek, men's-women's doubleheader. 

The Oberlin men will host the Wittenberg University Tigers at 6 p.m. to get proceedings going on Wednesday night.