The Heidelberg University women’s basketball team led by fifth year head coach Marcie Alberts returned to Seiberling Gymnasium to battle the Polar Bears of Ohio Northern University.
Ohio Northern, ranked ninth in the country by D3Hoops.com, entered the matchup 12-1 overall, undefeated at 6-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
The Student Princes entered the game 5-8 overall with a 1-6 record in the OAC. The Berg has struggled as of late, dropping their last three contests.
The Heidelberg ladies played a hard fought game, trailing by only eight at the half. But the powerful Polar Bears put the Berg on ice in the second half, rolling to a 76-65 victory.
Junior Kathleen Phillips (Sandusky/St. Mary’s) led the Berg in scoring with 19-points to accompany her four rebounds, team-high two steals and one assist.
Phillips now sits only 19-points away from eclipsing the 1,000 career points mark heading into Saturday's contest against Otterbein University.
Juniors Megan Miller (Tiffin/Columbian) and Emily Giel (Burton/Berkshire) both collected 11-points for the Berg in the loss. Miller tallied a team-high seven rebounds; while Giel led the team in assists with three and collected one steal.
Sophomore Paige Ricketts (Mineral City/Tusky Valley) dropped nine points on the Polar Bears while tallying one defensive rebound and two assists.
Ohio Northern was led offensively by Cenzie Yoder who tallied 18-points in the win. Three other Polar Bears scored in double figures.
The Berg and the Polar Bears exchanged the lead five times until Ohio Northern tied the game at the 13:22 mark in the first half with a Yoder jumper. After Ohio Northern took the lead at the 12:42 mark with a three-pointer, they would not trail for the remainder of the contest.
However, Heidelberg would tie the game twice, but Ohio Northern proved too much offensively for the Student Princes, taking their largest lead of the game with 31 second remaining in the contest.
A Megan Miller jumper with 18 seconds left in the game would bring the deficit to 11, resulting in the 76-65 final.
The Heidelberg women will return to the hardwood on Saturday, January 12, 2013, when they take on Otterbein University in Seiberling Gymnasium. Tip-off between the Cardinals and the Student Princes is slated for 3:00 p.m.