HIRAM, Ohio — Kiana Mollabashy scored 17 and Alyssa Horsley tallied 16, but the first-year duo, and the rest of the Kenyon College women’s basketball team, couldn’t overcome the aftermath of a subpar third quarter during an 82-51 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) loss at Hiram College on Saturday afternoon.
Mollabashy was 7-for-17 from the floor and tied her season-best scoring total, while Horsley, who was 6-for-12, put up a double-digit scoring total for the fifth time in the last six games. Mollabashy’s stat line also included six rebounds, three assists, and a pair steals. Horsley tacked on team-highs of eight rebounds and four assists.Kenyon fell behind Hiram early on, but Horsley whipped up four quick points and so did sophomore Melana Pomerants. First-year Katherine Organ added a three-pointer and the Owls closed out the first quarter with a 16-11 lead.Sarah Seaman and Brooke Hickman sparked a second-quarter run for Hiram and the Terriers caught the Owls at 18-18. Mollabashy and Horsley drained back-to-back three-pointers to later make it 24-24, but the Terriers hit the final bucket of the half and went into the break with a 27-26 advantage.That would be as close as it would get. When the teams returned for third-quarter play, things fell apart for the Owls. The Kenyon team went 0-for-8 in the quarter and turned the ball over nine times. A pair of free throws from Horsley was all the Owls could muster and they fell behind 49-28 heading into the final quarter.Kenyon would get no closer than 17 points and the final margin was the largest for the home team, which was led by Hickman, who registered game-highs of 25 points and 11 rebounds.The Owls put together one of their best three-point shooting performances of the season, going 7-of-19 (36.8 percent), but a total of 26 turnovers spoiled any chances of catching the Terriers.The win moved Hiram to 8-6 overall and 1-2 in NCAC play. Kenyon, which returns home for a Wednesday evening game against Ohio Wesleyan University, fell to 2-11 overall and 0-3 in conference contests.
