Two huge milestones were reached in the John Carroll women’s basketball game against Marietta on Dec. 7.  Head Coach Kelly Morrone received her 100th career win and senior guard Sarah Sprecher earned a career high of 20 points and four steals, including six three-pointers in the 70-48 victory for the Blue Streaks.

With the final score being a 22 point win, it may not have seemed like an intense game on paper, but all of those in attendance witnessed the passion and fierceness that John Carroll played with throughout the entire game.

From the get-go, the Blue Streaks brought the energy. They started in a full court press, causing the Pioneers to turn the ball over and establishing the momentum for John Carroll from the start. 

Senior Sarah Sprecher started her career high in scoring with two back-to-back threes.  Along with an impressive defensive performance, the Blue Streaks led 25-13 at the end of the first quarter.

JCU continued to pressure the Pioneers with the press and continued the scoring with a 41-25 halftime lead.

After the half, the Pioneers came out with a new-found fire, going on an 8-0 scoring run. John Carroll junior Abby Adler responded by finishing a fast-break layup to take back the Blue Streaks’ momentum. 

The Blue Streaks changed up their defense, going into a 1-3-1 defensive formation, frazzling the opposing offense and forcing even more turnovers by Marietta. 

The Pioneers retaliated against this defense with a zone full-court press, which John Carroll broke all too easily, finishing the first possession against this defense with a Sprecher three-pointer. 

At the end of the third quarter, the Blue Streaks led the Pioneers 58-37, allowing JCU players to be substituted into the game during the fourth quarter.

The JCU women played as a team, accomplishing this 100th career win for Coach Morrone. 

The win helped to boost the Blue Streaks’ overall record to 6-1 with an OAC record of 2-0. This is the best start that John Carroll has had since the 2014-15 season, which was Morrone’s first season at the helm.

The team is back in action on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. in University Heights, Ohio, against the Muskingum Fighting Muskies.