Balanced Bishops knock off Defiance

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Four different players scored in double figures as the Ohio Wesleyan women’s basketball team rolled to a 69-56 non-conference win over visiting Defiance Wednesday night at Branch Rickey Arena.

Nicole Popovich led the charge with 15 points for the Bishops, who raced out to a 21-14 lead after the first quarter.

Defiance sliced into the deficit in the second, outscoring OWU 14-12, but the Bishops (2-4) smoothed out the scoring summary with an 18-13 third and 18-15 fourth.

Leah Maniaci backed Popovich with 14 points, Claire Sterling added 12 and Cierra Joiner chipped in 10 points and a game-best 12 rebounds.

Kalyn Pickens led Defiance with 17 points in the setback.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Ohio Wesleyan never found its touch from the outside, connecting on just five of its 23 three-point attempts in a 79-61 NCAC setback at the hands of host Wabash Wednesday in Crawfordsville, Ind.

Wabash (5-2, 1-0 NCAC) led 41-31 at the break and outscored OWU (4-2, 0-1 NCAC) 38-30 in the second half to seal the deal.

Gabe Johnson led the Bishops with 16 points and nine rebounds while Jack Davidson poured in a game-best 20 points for Wabash.

FIELD HOCKEY

Three Ohio Wesleyan University field hockey players were named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association’s All-Great Lakes Region team, it was announced this week.

Freshman defender Cayla Homsher and sophomore midfielder Astrid Koek were first-team all-region selections, and freshman forward Madisyn Bunke was a second-team all-region pick.

Homsher and Koek were starters in an Ohio Wesleyan defense that led NCAA Division III teams in shutouts per game (0.65), allowed only 9 goals during the season, and compiled a 0.53 goals-against average. Koek was a second-team all-region selection in 2018.

Bunke tied for fourth in the NCAC with 9 goals, tied for sixth with 19 points, and tied for seventh with 3 game-winning goals. Her averages of 0.53 goals and 1.12 points per game ranked fourth and sixth respectively.

Ohio Wesleyan finished the season with a 13-4 record. The Bishops shared the NCAC championship with a 7-1 mark, Ohio Wesleyan’s first conference title since 1995, and advanced to the NCAC tournament for the first time since 2012.

Gazette Staff

OWU Sports Information contributed to this report.

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