No. 20 TIGERS FALL TO FIGHTING BEES IN CCAC OPENER; 90-77

DAVENPORT, Iowa. – The No. 20 Olivet Nazarene University women's basketball team began Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play on the road falling to Saint Ambrose University 90-77, on Tuesday.

The Fighting Bees built an 11-point lead early as they held the Tigers to only two made field goals in the first six minutes of play. Three consecutive forced turnovers sparked an 11-0 run capped off with a Khendel Rolison made three to even the score at 17 all. Saint Ambrose responded with a 7-0 run of their own to take back the multi-possession lead. Maggie Cora broke up the SAU run with a layup with seven seconds left in the quarter. Saint Ambrose led Olivet Nazarene 24-19 after the first quarter.

Saint Ambrose held the Tigers to 20 percent from the floor and only 1-12 from beyond the arc resulting in nine points scored in the second quarter. A 10-0 run midway through the period by SAU extended the lead to 16 with 4:26 left in the half. ONU was outrebounded 22-3 by the end of the half and resulted in a 19-point deficit heading into the locker room.

Halftime: Saint Ambrose 47, No. 20 Olivet Nazarene 28

ONU turned it around in the third quarter after trailing by 22, the largest deficit of the contest. They improved their shooting by making six threes and making baskets at a 41.7 percent clip to chip away at the lead. Kennedy Johnson, Zanna Meyers, and Olivia Demosthenes all tallied five points each while Jamie Finn added four. The Tigers cut the lead to 65-58 after three quarters played.

Olivet Nazarene fought all the way back to take their first lead of the game. Karina Smits made a three-point basket to bring the Tigers within one point. Kennedy Johnson followed up the next possession with a bucket in the lane to bring the score to 70-69 at the 7:01-mark. The lead was short-lived as the Fighting Bees responded with an 8-2 run to take back the lead and never looked back for the remainder of the game.

GAME VITALS

Final: Saint Ambrose 90, No. 20 Olivet Nazarene 77

Records: Saint Ambrose: 2-0 (1-0) | No. 20 Olivet Nazarene 1-2 (0-1)

Location: Lee Lohman Arena | Saint Ambrose University | Davenport, Iowa  

QUICK HITS

• Kennedy Johnson led the team with a season-high 16 points.
• Olivia Demosthenes tallied 14 points off the bench for a season-high.
• Maggie Cora doled a season-high out five assists off the bench.
• Jamie Finn registered seven points and five rebounds in 16 minutes of game time.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The No. 20 Tigers are back at McHie Arena this weekend as they look to take on the GPAC vs. CCAC Challenge. On Friday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m., ONU will tip-off against Briar Cliff. On Saturday, at 2 p.m., the Tigers look to take on No. 6 Morningside. Please visit onutigers.com for all the updated links.

--ONU--

*Contact: Patrick Kaindl, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, pkaindl@olivet.edu