When the John Carroll University Women’s Basketball team entered the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center on Saturday, Jan. 23, the team was on a mission. 

By the end of the evening, Coach Beth Andrews’ squad left no doubt with a 78-56 win over Heidelberg, which sent the team to 2-0 for the season. 

Following Friday night’s performance, when the Blue Streaks forced 33 turnovers, Saturday’s defensive effort was no slouch either. The Blue and Gold forced an additional 22 Student Prince turnovers. 

Andrews and the women held Heidelberg to just four points in the first quarter. In the next, senior Nicole Heffington led the charge for 16 more points. Sophomore Kaelyn Underwood brought down seemingly every contested rebound while adding three blocks. 

As the game progressed, junior Sarah Balfour unlocked her “takeover” badge and unleashed an attack on both ends of the court. Balfour’s performance resulted in a career-high 15-point night. 

The Streaks’ power showed in the middle of the game, as Balfour was joined by seniors Gabrielle Gevauden and Abby Adler in the offensive output. Gevauden and Adler locked down the defensive side of the court and connected with each other for multiple buckets.

Following Coach Andrews’ message about playing at 110%, seniors Sarah Sprecher and Stephanie Labas were impenetrable on the defensive side of the ball. Sophomore Jaylen Hoffmann showed her offensive prowess, as the sophomore guard easily provided eight points off the bench. 

Kalie Rettos, Heidelberg’s leading scorer on Friday night, led the way for the Student Princes as she had a team-high 11 points. Brooke Beamer also shone for the Black and Orange as she added nine points and provided four helpers. 

With everyone pitching in for the impressive victory, the Blue Streaks will be buzzing heading into next weekend. The second home game of the season will take place Friday night, Jan. 29, at the DeCarlo Center against rival Mount Union.