MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Olivet Nazarene University women's basketball team continued their road trip with a trip north to the CSU Fieldhouse for a CCAC clash with the Wolves of Cardinal Stritch University on Saturday afternoon.  The Tigers swept the season series defeating Cardinal Stritch, 98-81. 

The Tigers got off to a hot start and started the game on a 17-0 run.  Zanna Myers, Olivia Demosthenes, and Khendel Rolison all buried threes at the beginning of the game.  The Tigers kept pouring it on led 30-12 at the end of the first quarter. The Tiger defense forced 14 Wolves' turnovers and only surrendered five field goals in the quarter. 

Kennedy Johnson and Demosthenes kicked off the scoring for the Tigers as they led 35-14.  The Wolves tried to cut into the deficit as they started the quarter scoring 13 of the first 21 points but still trailed 39-25.  Maggie Cora then made back-to-back layups and the Tigers extended their lead to 43-25.  With two-and-a-half to go, ONU took back control of the game.  Karina Smits made a pair of threes to make the score, 52-31.  The Tigers led the Wolves, 52-32, at the half.  Smits led the Tigers with nine points and Boehne led the Tigers with six boards. 

Halftime: Olivet Nazarene 52, Cardinal Stritch 32

The Wolves marked six of the first nine points scored in the beginning of the third quarter making the score, 55-38.  After Cora buried a three, Cardinal Stritch then marked eight straight points forcing an ONU timeout.  The Tigers, however, still led 58-46.  Out of the timeout, Myers sparked a 9-0 Tiger run and ballooned the lead to 67-46.  Avery Curry and Rolison both tallied a three-pointer in the final two minutes of the quarter and the Tigers took a 77-52 lead going into the final quarter of play. 

After the Wolves scored the first six points of the quarter, Demosthenes marked another three and extended the lead to 80-58.  The Tigers struggled to score in the majority of the fourth quarter and only marked five more points until Smits drained a three.  The Tigers led 88-64. 

Johnson, Myers, and Curry all marked field goals in the final three minutes of the game as the Tigers defeated Cardinal Stritch, 98-81, for their fifth consecutive victory. 

GAME VITALS

Final: Olivet Nazarene 98, Cardinal Stritch 81

Records: Olivet Nazarene: 15-8 (12-4 CCAC) | Cardinal Stritch: 5-15 (3-11 CCAC)

Location: CSU Fieldhouse | Cardinal Stritch University | Milwaukee, Wis.

QUICK HITS

• Myers led the Tigers with 20 points and went 5-for-12 from behind the arc. 
• Smits followed with 15 points and also knocked down five threes.
• Johnson and Demosthenes both scored 12 points. 
• Johnson scored her 1,000th career point and reached 500 career assists becoming the third Tiger to achieve both of those milestones. 
• Boehne led the Tigers with 10 rebounds. 
• The Tigers forced 40 Wolves turnovers and scored 50 points off those turnovers. 
• ONU outscored the Wolves 44-10 off the bench and 30-9 in second chance points. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Tigers conclude their road-trip traveling to South Bend, Ind. to take on the Titans of IU-South Bend on Wednesday, February 2nd at 5:30 p.m. CST.  Please visit onutigers.com for the live links. 

--ONU—

*Contact: Sam Viebrock, Sports Information Director, stviebrock@olivet.edu