ONU BOUNCES BACK WITH UPSET VICTORY OVER NO. 6 MORNINGSIDE

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The No. 20 Olivet Nazarene women's basketball got back on track with an upset victory over No. 6 Morningside University, 106-97, to conclude the GPAC/ CCAC Challenge Saturday afternoon. The Tigers overcame an eight-point deficit and outscored the Mustangs 39-22 in the fourth quarter leading the way to victory.

MU went on the first scoring run of the contest in the first quarter and built a seven-point lead. Morningside ripped off 11-1 in points that ended with a layup to make it 17-10 at the 2:12-minute mark. ONU responded with an 8-0 run of their own capped off with a made three-point basket by Kaitlyn Engle with 44 seconds left in the first quarter. Morningside's Sierra Mitchell was fouled with three seconds remaining in the act of shooting a three. Her three made free throws separated the two ball clubs heading into the second quarter, 21-18.

The second quarter saw five lead changes. For the half, the Tigers maintained better possession of the basketball only turning the ball over 10 times to the Mustangs 17. ONU swiped eight steals and held the slight one-point advantage going into the locker rooms.

Halftime: No. 20 Olivet Nazarene 42, No. 6 Morningside 41

Morningside came into the third quarter with their best shooting stretch of the game. They shot from the floor at a 68.8% clip and 62.5% from beyond the arc. MU kept ONU off the free-throw limiting the Tigers to only one shot attempt from the charity stripe. Another 10-0 run saw the Mustangs build a seven-point lead with only 2:29 left in the third period. Another MU 8-2 run to end the quarter with the score standing at 75-67.

Jamie Finn and Karina Smits made two baskets from three-point land to cut the lead to one with 6:41 left in the game. A layup by Kennedy Johnson gave the Tigers the 85-84 lead and sparked a 9-0 run. Olivia Demosthenes drained a three-ball at the 3:02-mark followed up with a pair of free throws to give ONU their largest lead of the day at 104-91. Olivet Nazarene kept the press defense all the way till the final buzzer to complete the upset win at home.

GAME VITALS

Final: No. 20 Olivet Nazarene 106, No. 6 Morningside 97

Records: No. 20 Olivet Nazarene 2-3 | No. 6 Morningside: 0-2

Location: McHie Arena | Olivet Nazarene University | Bourbonnais, Ill.  

QUICK HITS

• Kennedy Johnson led the team with a season-high 21 points.
• Kaitlyn Engle tallied 15 points off the bench for a season-high.
• Kaitlyn Clark tallied 12 points off the bench for a season-high.
• Caroline Boehne led the Tigers in boards with eight rebounds.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The No. 20 Tigers continue CCAC play by visiting Lincoln College next Wednesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Please visit onutigers.com for all the updated links.

--ONU--

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