LIMA, Ohio -- The Siena Heights women's basketball team rolled to a big 81-67 win on the road over Northwestern Ohio on Saturday afternoon. The win improves the Saints win streak to six games and gives SHU an 8-2 overall record and a 4-2 mark in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) play. Kiana Votava was the leading scorer for the Saints with 17 points on the day.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Siena Heights 81, Northwestern Ohio 67
Location: Lima, Ohio (Racer Gymnasium)
Records: Siena Heights (8-2, 4-2 WHAC), UNOH (3-7, 0-5 WHAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Siena jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the opening four minutes of the first quarter. That lead was extended to 17-7 after an 8-0 run by the Saints with just 2:01 left in the opening quarter. The Racers hit two three-point jumpers in the final two minutes to cut the SHU lead to five points (18-13).
UNOH used a 10-0 run in the second to take its only lead of the game, 23-20, with 7:08 left on the clock before halftime. The Saints would retake the lead, and never look back, on a 9-0 run that put the score at 29-25 with 4:02 remaining before halftime. The score sat at 38-32, Siena when the teams went into the locker rooms at the intermission.
The Saints used two 6-0 runs in the third quarter to further extend the lead. The first 6-0 run propelled Siena to a 50-41 lead with 4:25 left on the clock; the second extended the lead to 14 points (58-44) with 1:35 left in the third stanza.
Siena went up 72-50 after runs of 6-0 and 8-0 in the first four minutes of the final quarter. The Racers would cut the lead to 74-57 with a 5-0 run with under four minutes left. An 8-0 run by UNOH would cut the Saint lead to 12 (74-67) with 1:15 remaining.
SHU finished the game shooting 45.2% from the floor and 81.5% from the free-throw line. The Racers shot 37.7% FG, 36.8% from three, and 64.5% FT.
TOP SAINTS
• Votava was 7-11 from the floor and 3-3 from the free throw line to lead the Saints in the win.
• Peyton Banks shot 3-5 in field goals and a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe to total 16 points in the contest. She also hauled in a team-high nine rebounds.
• Demi Russell tallied 10 points (4-7 FG, 2-2 FT) and six rebounds to contribute to the victory.
• Alyssa Larson continued to be a factor off the bench for the Saints with 10 points (4-12 FG, 2-2 FT) and five rebounds.
THE OPPOSITION
• Emily Patton led the Racers with 15 points. She was 4-10 from the floor, 2-7 from three-point territory, and 5-8 from the free throw line.
• Shatisha Dukes scored 12 off the bench for UNOH.
• Fataya Larry was one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
• Ronja Orpo finished with 10 points.
UP NEXT
The Saints will host Lourdes on Wednesday, December 5. The game is the first of a doubleheader with the tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m.