Women’s Basketball: Muskingum (4-10 Overall, 1-6 OAC) at #18 Ohio Northern (13-1 Overall, 7-0 OAC)
Saturday, January 14, 2023, 4 p.m. - ONU Sports Center, Ada, Ohio
Saturday's Preview: The Polar Bears continue Ohio Athletic Conference play on Saturday as they host Muskingum in the back half of a men's-women's doubleheader … Northern is coming off Wednesday's 53-51 home win over No. 7 Baldwin Wallace that gave ONU the outright lead in the OAC standings … Sophomore Abi Akamine made a driving layup at the buzzer that gave ONU the victory … Senior Brynn Serbin led ONU with 21 points to go with four rebounds and seven assists … Junior Kristen Luersman finished with 15 points and six rebounds … BW entered that game averaging an OAC-best 67.1 points per game … Northern is ranked No. 18 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll and No. 22 in the WBCA Top 25 Poll this week … The Polar Bears are riding a 10-game win streak, which is their longest since winning 17 straight in the 2017-18 season … Through 14 games, Serbin (14.4 points per game), Luersman (11.5) and sophomore Brooke Allen (11.0) lead ONU in scoring … Serbin ranks second in the OAC in scoring average, Luersman is eighth, and Allen is 11th … Luersman leads the OAC in rebounding average with 9.0 per game and is tied for seventh in the conference with 12 blocks … Serbin has an OAC-high 66 assists and 39 steals … Serbin has made a team-best 24 3-pointers, which is tied for third in the OAC, and is shooting 32.4% from beyond the arc, which ranks 10th in the OAC … Serbin is tied for second all-time at ONU with 181 career steals … Serbin has 227 career assists, which ranks sixth all-time at ONU … The Polar Bears are holding opponents to 51.6 points per game on 31.7% shooting, including 26.7% from beyond the arc … Northern leads the OAC in points per game allowed and field goal percentage defense … Muskingum is riding a four-game losing streak coming off Wednesday's 65-57 loss at Wilmington … Freshman Claudia Harrington led the Muskies with 20 points, and freshman Lizzy Allen, junior Taylor DeMassimo and sophomore Caitlyn DeMassimo added 10 points each … Through 14 games, Harrington leads MU with 13.7 points per game followed by Taylor DeMassimo (10.3) and Caitlyn DeMassimo (9.9) … Harrington ranks third in the OAC in scoring average and leads the Muskies with 5.9 rebounds per game … Sophomore Halle Morehead is tied for second in the OAC with 46 assists … Harrington and Allen are tied for the team lead in steals with 19 each … Freshman Abby Boeing ranks 10th in the OAC with 11 blocks … Taylor DeMassimo has made a team-high 24 3-pointers, which is tied for third in the OAC, and is shooting 31.2% from beyond the arc.
ONU Statistical Leaders:
Scoring | Rebounding | 3FGs | Assists | Steals | ||||||||||||||
1. | Serbin | 14.4 | 1. | Luersman | 9.0 | 1. | Serbin | 24 | 1. | Serbin | 66 | 1. | Serbin | 39 | ||||
2. | Luersman | 11.5 | 2. | Serbin | 6.3 | 2. | Suprano | 16 | 2. | Luersman | 20 | 2. | Luersman | 21 | ||||
3. | Allen | 11.0 | 3. | Allen | 4.7 | 3. | Knippen | 15 | 3. | Dials | 18 | 3. | Knippen | 11 | ||||
Knippen | 18 | Suprano | 11 |
All-Time Series: Ohio Northern leads the all-time series with Muskingum by a 49-42 margin, including a 26-14 mark in Ada … ONU has won 19 of the past 20 meetings dating back to 2011 with MU's lone victory in that stretch coming at home in January 2020 … In the teams' lone meeting last season, ONU came away with a 73-56 home victory.
Head Coach Mark Huelsman: Huelsman is in his third season at ONU and has an overall record of 37-17, a winning percentage of .685.