Denison 66, Ohio Wesleyan 58
Freshman post Kristin Henning (Beavercreek) and freshman wing Mary Corbett (Columbus/Upper Arlington) buried 3-pointers to open the game, but defending conference champion Denison used runs of 16-2 and 12-0 to build a lead, then held the Bishops at arm's length during the second half to take a North Coast Athletic Conference win over Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday at Branch Rickey Arena.
Denison overcame the early 6-0 deficit, getting 3-pointers from Nicole Coggins and Kyli Parker to pull within 10-9, only to see Ohio Wesleyan build a 16-9 lead with the help of a 3-point play by freshman post LaNiece McRae (Youngstown/Chaney) and a 3-pointer from sophomore wing Julia Grimsley (Alliance).
Ohio Wesleyan still led, 18-11, after a lay-in by freshman wing Caroline Welker (Delaware/Hayes), but the Big Red answered with a 16-2 outburst that turned the 7-point deficit into a 7-point lead after Gretchen Staubach sank a pair of free throws to make it 27-20 with 6:30 left in the first half.
Sophomore post Tamra Londot (Utica) collected a pair of free throws and a lay-in to help the Bishops pare the deficit to 29-27, and Ohio Wesleyan was still within 33-28 after a free throw by freshman guard Sarah McQuade (Dublin/Coffman) with just over a minute left in the first half.
Denison scored the final 4 points of the half, getting a pair of free throws from Lydia Harlan and a bucket from Kinsey Bryant-Lane, and the Big Red opened the second stanza with 8 straight points to extend the margin to 45-28.
Welker's 3-pointer ended the Bishop scoring drought, and Ohio Wesleyan chipped away at the deficit, getting 2 more trifectas from Welker and a lay-in by Corbett to pull within 49-41 at the midway point of the second half, but the Bishops would not come closer than 8 points during the remainder of the contest.
Welker led the Bishops with 13 points, while Corbett finished with 12 points. McRae grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds, and junior guard Kandis Walker (Utica) had 5 assists.
Bryant-Lees led Denison with 12 points.
Box Score
