BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The No. 20 Olivet Nazarene University women's basketball team won their Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Home Opener over Cardinal Stritch 133-91 Saturday afternoon. The Tigers scored their most points in a game since the 2018-19 season.


Four separate ONU players tallied six or more points in the opening period. Kennedy Johnson, Khendel Rolison, and Maggie Cora each scored six while Olivia Demosthenes registered seven off the bench. ONU poured in seven three-point baskets. In the first quarter. Rolison went 2-3 and Cora went 2-2 from beyond the arc to build a 10-point lead after the first 10 minutes played. Olivet Nazarene led Cardinal Stritch 39-29 at the first official break.  

ONU added another seven three-point buckets in the second quarter. Katrina Smits and Kaitlyn Clark caught fire converting three baskets from beyond the arc each in the quarter. The Tigers benefited from great ball movement as they doled out 13 assists and rung up 43 points in the second period. In total, 11 different players scored in the quarter. This offensive explosion resulted in a 30-point lead heading into the locker rooms at the half.

Halftime: (20) Olivet Nazarene 82, Cardinal Stritch 52

Olivet Nazarene came out of the intermission and tightened the clamps on defense holding the Wolves to a game low 18 points for a quarter. Stritch managed to only convert baskets at a 35% while also turning the ball over seven times. Zanna Myers broke the century point total of the Tigers in the contest at the 3:43-minute mark with the score standing at 100-66. ONU built a 40-point lead after three periods played, 110-70.

Alayha Allen led the way in the final quarter of the contest with six points off the bench. Khendel and Madison converted a pair of threes back-to-back to kick off the fourth. Cora scored the final points of the day for ONU with a layup with 2:03 remaining. The tigers saw out the rest of the contest to improve to 2-1 in the conference and 4-3 overall.

Game Vitals

Final: (20) Olivet Nazarene 133, Cardinal Stritch 91

Records: (20) Olivet Nazarene 4-3 (CCAC 2-1) | Cardinal Stritch 1-6 (CCAC 0-2)

Location: McHie Arena| Olivet Nazarene University | Bourbonnais, Ill.

Quick Hits

• Nine different players reached double figures in scoring, five of which came off the bench.
• Alayha Allen eclipsed her season-high in points with 15 total on the day.
• Kennedy Johnson doled out a season-high 10 assists in the game
• Maggie Cora had a team-high 16 points.
• Jamie Finn swiped a season-high four steals.

The Tigers will welcome Saint Xavier University next Saturday at McHie Arena. A rematch of last year's CCAC Tournament Final will tip-off at 1 p.m. Please visit onutgers.com for the most updated links to listen, watch, and follow along.

--ONU—

*Contact: Patrick Kaindl, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, pkaindl@olivet.edu