Review: Women's Basketball writes another successful story in program's history
ADA — The Ohio Northern women's basketball team put another successful season in its record book, notching a 17-10 overall record and an 11-7 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference by the end of the 2010-11 season.
One thing that helped the team and head coach Michele Durand was the return of nearly the entire lineup, including five starters.
The season came with a lot of new experiences for the Polar Bears, one of which was an impressive 10-1 start to the season, the best start in program history. That stretch also included a nine-game winning streak.
Another new experience for the women's basketball team was its trip to the Grand Canyon Classic in Phoenix, Ariz. The Polar Bears finished second in the tournament and sophomore Joanna Snyder earned a spot on the All-Tournament team.
The Polar Bears began conference play in dominant fashion, defeating Muskingum 64-45 in the conference home opener. They Polar Bears then went on to beat the next five OAC teams they faced by a margin no less than 14 points.
Northern fell to then No.13-ranked Mount Union on the road in a tough 66-56 contest, nearly midway through the season. The squad responded in the next match up against OAC foe Wilmington, picking up 67-56 home victory.
The Polar Bears went on to drop three close games to Baldwin-Wallace, Muskingum and Otterbein, losing two contests by only two points. The team bounced back against John Carroll, scoring the most points an opponent all season with an 89-79 victory at home.
The remainder of the season the team split wins and losses (3-3) rounding out the regular season falling to Baldwin-Wallace on the road. The Polar Bears finished in third place in the OAC in the regular season and the No. 3 seed in the OAC Tournament.
In the postseason, Ohio Northern hosted Muskingum in the quarterfinals of the OAC Tournament. The Polar Bears defeated the Muskies, 75-68 and advanced to the next round.
The Polar Bears' season came to a close in the semifinal match up, falling to OAC rival John Carroll in a heartbreaking 71-70 showdown.
Senior Jeanne Bockey earned her share of accolades as she was named First Team All-OAC, All-Tournament and First Team Academic All-OAC. Bockey led the Polar Bears in scoring and ranked as the eighth top scorer in the OAC, averaging 13.3 points per game.
Bockey was also among the top ten best 3-point shooters in the OAC with a .364 long-range shooting percentage. She also led the Polar Bears in steals with 37 on the season and was third in assists with 56.
Snyder received All-OAC Honorable Mention honors and was also named to the Academic All-OAC Honorable Mention. Snyder was the fourth leading scorer among with Polar Bears, averaging 7.8 points per game. Snyder tied for second on the team in blocks, swatting eight shots away during the season, and third in steals at 16.
Morgan Dumbaugh had a solid sophomore season. Dumbaugh was the second leading scorer for the Polar Bears, averaging 9.1 points per game. Dumbaugh is among the top ten all-time leading 3-point shooters with a .366 shooting percentage. She also tied for second on the squad in steals with 16.
Junior Kara Dysert led the Polar Bears in rebounding, pulling down an average of 6.9 rebounds per game. Dysert led the OAC with the best free throw shooting percentage, knocking down 60 of her 69 attempts for a .870 percentage. She led the Polar Bears in blocks with 15 on the season and was also the third top scorer for ONU, averaging 8.3 points per game.
Sophomore point guard Katie Mengos led the teams in assists with 66 and had the second most steals behind Bockey with 32. Mengos was also named to the Academic All-OAC Honorable Mention.
The Polar Bears experienced shooting success this season, ranking second in the OAC with the best field goal (.422), free throw (.754) and 3-point (.353) shooting percentages.
The Polar Bears led the OAC in defensive rebounding, pulling down an average of 33.1 boards per game.