Women's Basketball

Carolyn Simpson scored 22 points and added 12 rebounds in Denison's loss Kenyon on Wednesday.

Kenyon remained perfect in North Coast Athletic Conference play and Denison's five-game winning streak came to an end on Wednesday night following a tightly contested 72-65 win the Kenyon College Ladies on Wednesday night at Livingston Gymnasium.

Denison, who entered the marquee NCAC match-up with a seven-game winning streak versus the Ladies, took a five-point lead with nine minutes left in the first half after a jumper by junior post Carolyn Simpson (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto).  Still leading by four with four minutes left in the half, Kenyon began to heat up and would parlay their hot shooting into a 12-0 run that resulted in a 31-23 lead with 1:42 left in the opening period.

The two teams combined for 21 turnovers in the first half, but the second half would be a different story.  Both teams would continue with with impressive defensive intensity, but Kenyon's ability to hit clutch shots down the stretch and capitalize on second-chance opportunities would be difference in the game.

The Big Red led 34-33 with 16:30 left in the half but that would be the last lead for the home team.  After a Simpson layup off a nifty assist by Katie St. Clair (Granger, Ind./St. Joseph's) cut the Ladies' lead to six at 61-55 with 3:37 to play, Kenyon's Ann Dugan threaded a beautiful pass out of a Denison double-team to Hilary Gowins who knocked down the open 3-pointer from the elbow. 

DU would answer Gowins trey with a quick basket by St. Clair but after a Laurel Stokes miss and an offensive rebound by Eva George, she found Gowins again, this time just as the shot clock buzzer expired, giving Kenyon their first and only double-digit lead at 67-57 with 2:01 left eventually sealing up the victory.

Simpson turned in an outstanding game for Denison on the offensive and defensive end.  She finished with a season-high 22 points, just one off her career-high 23 set last year.  She also posted 12 rebounds in 37 minutes while going 8-for-16 from the field.  Junior guard Ellen O'Brien (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) finished with 17 points while going 5-for-8 from the field and also dished out five assists.  Leading Denison in the assist category was St. Clair who handed out a career-high seven helpers.

Kenyon was paced by Dugan's game-high 23 points and nine rebounds.  The Ladies were 18-for-21 from the free throw line and held a 33-31 rebounding edge.  Despite losing the offensive rebounding battle 13-12, Kenyon made the most of their opportunities, outscoring Denison 28-8 in second-chance situations.

Denison falls to 9-7 overall and 5-2 in the NCAC while Kenyon moves to 8-0 in the NCAC and 11-6 overall.  DU will travel to Allegheny College this Saturday in what will be a 2 p.m. tip-off in Meadville, Pa.