John Carroll’s bid to bring home a women’s basketball conference tournament title came up short Feb. 28 at Denison University but the Blue Streaks’ season likely is not over. Coach Beth Andrews’ team lost, 64-59, to DePauw in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament championship game b ut at 24-4 the big picture is the Blue Streaks have positioned themselves for an at-large NCAA tournament bid. That’s because in the latest NCAA Power Index ratings, JCU is No. 9, and projected to earn the third at-large bid among the 64-team tournament field and could possibly host a pod in the opening round. Against DePauw (19-9), the Blue Streaks led, 16-12, after the first quarter but were outscored, 19-10, in the second and trailed, 31-26, at halftime. JCU made a run at it in the second but trailed, 48-41, entering the fourth and couldn’t rally. JCU struggled from the field, making 22 of 57 shots (38.6 percent) and 9 of 30 from 3-point range (30 percent). Ava Ryncarz was high scorer for the Blue Streaks with 16 points and seven rebounds. Graci Semptimphelter added 10 points and eight boards. Riley Mont led DePauw with 16 points. It appears the NCAC will have four teams in the NCAA tournament in JCU, Denison (No. 6 NPI), Ohio Wesleyan (No. 15 NPI) and tournament champ DePauw, which earned the conference’s auto bid. The tournament bracket will be announced March 2. ...read more read less