UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – As Courtney Tucker walked to the bench with her second foul of the first half, she took the momentum with her.
John Carroll ended the first half on a 20-6 run, all with Tucker (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore) watching from the sidelines, and finished with the 70-58 victory over the Wilmington College women's basketball team Saturday in Ohio Athletic Conference action.
Wilmington falls to 10-7 overall, 5-5 in the OAC, while No. 19 John Carroll improves to 16-1 overall, 9-1 in the OAC.
Tucker and junior Ashley Andracki (Columbus, OH/Bishop Watterson) got Wilmington off to a fast start, combining for 17 of WC's first 27 points as the Fightin' Quakers opened up a 10-point lead. Tucker finished with a team-high 14 points and team-high nine rebounds.
The game was essentially decided at the end of both halves as the Blue Streaks also ended the game on a 13-4 run, sealing the victory.
"Courtney was having a nice game both defensively and offensively, and we had a nice lead and we were in control of the game," said Wilmington head coach Jerry Scheve. "She was doing a nice job of guarding (Katlyn) Spahar. When she went out, it was the turning point for John Carroll."
The league's leading scorer, Katlyn Spahar, had just four points when Tucker went to the bench. The sophomore exploded for seven of her 11 first-half points to end the half. She finished with a game-high 26 points.
Wilmington couldn't get out of its own way in the second half, inhibiting its ability to turn the momentum around.
Of JCU's 11 second-half baskets, eight came off either steals or offensive rebounds. In addition, there was a stretch of more than six minutes where neither team could muster much offensively.
"We did a good job of stopping them, and a good job of stopping ourselves," said Scheve. "I am really disappointed in the result today. We didn't play well enough, but we are going to play better. In the second half, we didn't rebounds and we turned the ball over. We were just making a variety of mistakes, mistakes that winning teams don't make."
Sophomore Brittaney Jefferson (Dayton, OH/Chaminade Julienne) added 12 points, five rebounds, three steals and three assists.
The Fightin' Quakers travels to Capital 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Ohio Athletic Conference action. Wilmington won the first meeting, 61-52, on December 3.