ONU women win 2nd straight OAC Tourney Posted on February 27, 2024 0 MARIETTA — Fourth-seeded Ohio Northern won its second consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament title with a 63-55 victory at second-seeded Marietta in the championship game on Saturday afternoon. The Game Fifth-year senior All-American Brynn Serbin (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) led all scorers with 22 points. She also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and dished out three assists to lead ONU. Freshman Chloee Glenn (Glandorf/Ottawa-Glandorf) scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench for the Polar Bears. Kelly Levering led the Pioneers with 16 points and 9 rebounds. The game was tied at 50-all when Glenn scored inside with 5:25 left to give ONU a 52-50 lead. Serbin scored at the 3:36 mark to increase the lead to 54-51 and her basket with 2:51 to go made it 56-51. Senior Kristen Luersman (Fort Jennings) got a 3-point play at the 2:18 mark and the Polar Bear lead was extended to 59-52. Sophia Murray nailed a 3-pointer with 48 seconds left to get MC within 59-55. Juniors Layla Dials (Willard) and Mackenzie Suprano (Cutler/Waterford) would each make a pair of free throws in the final 22 seconds to put the game away. The game was tight throughout as it was tied at 16 after the first period and MC led 32-30 at halftime and 46-43 after three periods. Ohio Northern made 22-of-58 field goals for 37.9 percent and was 7-of-22 from beyond the arc for 31.8 percent while Marietta was 20-of-58 from the floor for 34.5 percent and finished 9-of-21 on 3-pointers for 42.9 percent. ONU made 12-of-14 free throws for 85.7 percent and MC was 6-of-12 from the line for 50.0 percent. The Pioneers held a 44-33 advantage in rebounds, but ONU forced 19 turnovers while committing only 12. Notables Northern won its second consecutive OAC Tournament title and its sixth in program history. The Polar Bears are 34-31 all-time in the OAC Tournament in 36 appearances. Northern is now 64-22 all-time against MC, including a 25-17 mark in Marietta and a 6-2 record in the OAC Tournament. Serbin is ONU’s all-time leader in career steals with 298 and assists with 397. Serbin ranks second on ONU’s all-time career scoring list with 1,317 points. She ranks third all-time with 187 made 3-pointers in her career, is 10th all-time in made free throws with 226, is 12th all-time in rebounds with 583 and fourth all-time with 452 made field goals. Serbin is the only women’s basketball player in ONU history to tally at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 200 steals in her career. Serbin’s 22-point game marks her 21st game in double digits in scoring this season. Luersman is now 16th in ONU history with 505 career rebounds. Fourth-year head coach Mark Huelsman is now 68-30 at Ohio Northern for a winning percentage of .694. Up Next The Polar Bears have qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament and will face Marymount (Va.) in Scranton in the first round Friday.
