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GAMBIER, Ohio – The Kenyon College women’s basketball team tipped off a three game North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) homestand on Wednesday night, hosting The College of Wooster Fighting Scots from Tomsich Arena.
Fueled by strong outings from Kiana Mollabashy and Anissa Hardy followed up by a career night from Abby Burdette, the Owls were able to capture its first NCAC victory of the season, prevailing 72-60.
Although both teams shot the ball well out of the gate, it was Wooster who took an early edge. Hardy got her night started with four points in the first five minutes and Mollabashy splashed the first of her four threes of the night, but Kenyon trailed 11-7 early.
The Owls closed the first quarter on a 7-0 run, forcing three Scots turnovers and capitalizing on the other end with points from Hardy, Burdette and Antonia Marzini. Through the first 10 minutes, the home team led 14-11.
The second quarter matched the team’s highest point output of the night, netting 21 points. Kenyon kept up the hot shooting, ripping off a 13-7 run to start the quarter led by two triples from Grace Murphy. Hardy chipped in five more and with five minutes to play in the half, the Owls led 27-18. By the end of the first half, Kenyon’s lead held at 35-25.
Mollabashy turned the heat up a notch after the break, leading all scorers with 14 points in the final 20 minutes, six coming in the third. The Owls shot 6-of-9 (66.7 percent) from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, two of those coming from Mollabashy. Heading into the final 10 minutes, Kenyon sported a 51-39 lead.
As a team, the Owls had their best shooting performance in the fourth quarter, thwarting any chance of a Scots comeback. Kenyon shot 64.3 percent from the field to close the game and hit 3-of-4 threes. Mollabashy again led the offensive efforts with eight points, and Burdette added five. In the end, the deficit was too much for Wooster to handle, giving the home team the 72-60 win.
Mollabashy led the team with 17 points and four three pointers, not missing a single one. Hardy was next with 14 points and a team high eight rebounds. Burdette’s career day capped at 13 points while dishing six assists, another career best.
The Owls will be back at Tomsich for two more NCAC games before hitting the road again, the first on Saturday, January 24 at 3:00 p.m. against Oberlin College.
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