Rinehart scores 24, but Adrian tops Women's Basketball 68-58

Alisha Rinehart

By Patrick Massara

| Box Score |

ADRIAN, Mich. —  Despite a game-high 24 points from senior guard Alisha Rinehart, the Ohio Northern Women’s Basketball team lost on the road to Adrian, Mich. Wednesday night in a close battle.

The Polar Bears move to 1-3 on the season while the Bulldogs better their record to 5-1 overall.

Ohio Northern got off to a quick start to open the game as freshman point guard Megan Porter hit a three-pointer with 13:00 left in the first half to give the Polar Bears a 16-8 lead.

The Polar Bears would not trail until Adrain junior guard Jennifer Perrin hit a three-point shot with 2:00 minutes remaining in the half to put the Bulldogs ahead 27-26 and the momentum to build a 32-29 lead headed into intermission.

A layup by Rinehart with 15:59 remaining in the game brought the Polar Bears to within a point as they trailed 36-35.

Rinehart then caught fire as she scored the Polar Bears’ next six points as well to keep them within a point with 13:15 remaining as the Bulldogs held a 42-41 lead.

ONU freshman forward Kara Dysert followed Rinehart’s lead as she scored the next seven points for the Polar Bears as all came from the free-throw line to give them a 48-46 lead with 8:26 remaining.

Adrian junior forward Ashley McClarren hit a jump shot with 5:54 remaining to tie the game at 50 points a piece.

She would also score the next four points for the Bulldogs as they would not look back for the rest of the game.

After a jumper by Perrin with 2:41 remaining to give Adrian a 58-53 lead, the Bulldogs would score their final 10 points on free throws going 10-12 from the line as a team during that stretch.

Rinehart would add the final five points to Ohio Northern’s total.

Rinehart went 7-19 from the floor including 8-10 from the free-throw line for her 24 points on the night.

Dysert added 15 points for ONU as she earned the majority of her points by going 11 of 12 at the charity stripe.

Dysert and freshman center Steph Hicks each had six rebounds for ONU as Rinehart and senior forward Tricia Fuller each dissed out three assists.

The Polar Bears did outscore the Bulldogs 20-13 on fast-break points as well as taking better care of the ball as they had six fewer turnovers as well.

Perrin paced the way for the Bulldogs as she tallied 18 points on the night. Megan Bouwens and Ashley McClarren each chipped in with 10 points a piece as well for AC.

The Polar Bears begin Ohio Athletic Conference play this Saturday as they host Marietta at 3 pm