The John Carroll women’s basketball team returned to the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center this weekend on Sat., Jan. 20, hosting the Ohio Northern Polar Bears for an intense Ohio Athletic Conference matchup.

The ONU vs. JCU contest ended in a 66-51 defeat against the Blue Streaks. Coming into Saturday’s game, Ohio Northern had a record of 9-6 and John Carroll came in with a 9-7 record, providing an equal playing field for the OAC contest.

The Polar Bears jumped on the opportunity to secure points in the first half after some turnovers from the Streaks. The first quarter concluded in a 14-7 lead for the Polar Bears who were quick to find a rhythm that disrupted John Carroll’s defense.

John Carroll found momentum in the second quarter, scoring more baskets and finding open shots when needed. Ava Ryncarz ‘26 started things up for the Blue Streaks after draining a few buckets and executing her skills offensively. The Blue and Gold racked 14 points to close ONU to a narrow ten point lead, entering halftime 31-21.

The Polar Bears came in with more energy and intensity in the third quarter, causing a scoring surge that resulted in a 48-30 lead. Bella Carcioppollo ‘26 made an impact on the court both offensively and defensively, scoring a total of six points throughout the game, along with some key rebounds and steals. The Blue Streaks also found themselves fouling frequently after halftime, which resulted in the Polar Bears finding themselves on the foul line and continuing to exceed their shooting average.

John Carroll strived to close the gap, going on a 12-point scoring lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter. During the middle of the quarter, the Blue Streaks put themselves in a safe position after going on a 12-2 run, making the score 53-42. However, John Carroll’s boost was quickly shut down by the Polar Bear’s defense, which helped to solidify the result at 66-51.

Ryncarz snagged the No. 1 spot on the game leaderboard with 18 points, proving herself to be a key player in Saturday’s matchup, making seven free throws and contributing to John Carroll’s score by making three outside shots. Maddie Pietrowski ‘25 trailed right behind with eight points and a team-high of seven rebounds.

“I think that we showed the potential we have when we put everything together,” mentioned Ryncarz. “With the ball moving around on offense and strong defense communication, we showed we can compete with any team and just comes down to us limiting our mistakes, playing together, and being able to knock down shots on offense which we struggled to do in this game.”

“This is another game that just shows that we need to continue to get better every day, and focus on how as a team we can help each other be successful which will translate to the team being more successful in the future,” continued Ryncarz. “There are still a lot of games left for us to put everything together, and I think we have a lot to look forward to,”

The Blue Streaks look to round out OAC play with victories that will assist in determining post season rankings.