WESTMINSTER, MD – The Blue Jays (4-2, 2-0) used a 20-point effort from Diarra Oden to improve to 2-0 in conference play, defeating McDaniel 51-42 on Tuesday night.
 
Johns Hopkins used a second quarter run to jump out to an early lead, holding on to it throughout the second half in the Centennial Conference win.
 
Ellie Connelly hit a three-pointer late in the first quarter, cutting the deficit to 14-12 for the Green Terror, but the Blue Jays responded in a big way, ripping off a 10-2 run. Kenz Wilkinson hit a jumper to give the Blue Jays a four-point lead before Oden drilled a triple to extend the lead to seven. Mallory Conroy was able to hit a jumper to put a short-lived stop to the run, before Erin Walsh proceeded to make a layup followed by an Emily Howie three-pointer to give the Blue Jays a 24-14 lead, their largest of the first half.
 
The Green Terror crept back into the game at times, going on an 8-3 run of their own to close out the first half, cutting the Hopkins lead to 27-22 after 20 minutes of play. Despite shooting just 2-9 from the field in the half, Oden led the way with a game-high nine points, doing the brunt of her work at the foul line.
 
After allowing McDaniel to score the first bucket of the second half, Hopkins went on a 7-0 run to push the lead back to double digits. Howie hit a three while Oden added a layup and a pair of free throws, not allowing the Green Terror to fully get back into the contest.
 
McDaniel cut the deficit back to eight after a three from Josey Klingenberg, but Oden responded right back with a pair of free throws to go back on top 45-35. The Green Terror was unable to chip away in the final few minutes, never getting the deficit below eight points in the final quarter, as Hopkins pulled out a tough fought 51-42 road victory.
 
The win was the first road triumph of the young season for the Blue Jays after falling on the road to Mary Washington last week.
 
Hopkins shot just 32 percent from the field, but hit 38 percent of its three-pointers while holding McDaniel to 28 percent shooting and just 23 percent from beyond the arc. The Blue Jay defense was strong once again, forcing 22 McDaniel turnovers, resulting in 17 points.
 
Oden added eight rebounds to go with her 20 points in the contest. Howie and Hoyd both added eight points each while Walsh joined in on the action with six points and five rebounds.
 
Mallory Conroy led McDaniel, scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds while Liv Storer added   seven points and 10 boards.
 
The Blue Jays return to action on Wednesday night as they host Gettysburg at 6 p.m. inside Goldfarb Gymnasium.