Delaware, Ohio – The Oberlin College women's basketball team suffered a 59-48 loss at Ohio Wesleyan University on Wednesday night at historic Branch Rickey Arena.
Senior
Jasmine Sorrells paced the Yeowomen effort with her eighth double-double of the season as she posted 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Jai Cunningham added eight points and six boards, while
Rowan Smith also netted eight points to accompany her five boards.
The Yeowomen got off to an extremely slow start, posting just three first-quarter points as OWU led 14-3 after one period. However, roles were reversed in the second quarter as the Yeowomen erupted for 22 points before the break.
An 8-2 Oberlin spurt had the deficit down to five at 16-11 and moments later a jumper from
Cheyenne Arthur made it just an 18-15 Bishops' lead. With the Yeowomen now in striking distance, a steal by Smith turned into a jumper from
Sammy Spanier to tie the game at 23-23 with 70 seconds left in the half and the ensuing trip down the floor featured a layup from Sorrells to give Oberlin a 25-23 lead at the intermission.
It stayed close throughout the third quarter as no more than four points would separate the two foes in the stanza. After leading 29-25, an 8-0 Bishops' burst flipped the script and put them out in front 33-29 with 4:19 left in the frame. However, Oberlin trailed just 39-37 going into fourth as
Maggie Gross had a put-back layup go down as the buzzer was sounding.
Claire Sterling hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter for the Bishops and that shot essentially set the tone for the remainder of the game. OWU would swell its lead out to 50-41 before a Cunningham bucket quickly trimmed the margin back down to seven but the Yeowomen were unable to get any closer the rest of the way.
The Yeowomen out-shoot the Bishops 39 percent (23-of-59) to 30.6 percent (19-of-52), but OWU benefited from a large discrepancy at the free-throw line, cashing in 17 of the 23 freebies they hoisted for a 73.9 percent clip while Oberlin went just 1-of-5 at the stripe.
The loss dropped Oberlin back to 7-13 overall and 4-7 in the NCAC. OWU is now 11-9 and 6-5 in league play.
The Yeowomen return home to host Denison University on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
