GAMBIER, Ohio — The Earlham College women’s basketball team jumped out to a big lead and took control of interior play Saturday afternoon at Tomsich Arena. That left the Kenyon College Owls to play catch-up for the remainder of a 55-48 season-opening loss to the visiting Quakers.
Earlham scored the first two buckets of the game. Kenyon center Anissa Hardy answered with her first, and only field goal, to bring the score to 4-2. After that, the Quakers went on a 14-0 run that included a trio of three-pointers and ended with a 18-2 advantage.Kenyon later got three-pointers from Alexis Newman and Alyssa Horsley. Those six points, combined with four free throws from Hardy, pulled the Owls within seven at the end of the first quarter.In the second quarter, a three-ball from Grace Murphy got Kenyon within six points, but the Owls would not get any closer. The Quakers closed out the second quarter on an 11-4 run that put them ahead 34-21 at the break.Earlham’s frontcourt tandem of Berkley Shelton and Abby Parsons were not only a force offensively, but also shut down Kenyon’s play in the paint. Shelton went on to finish with 10 points and eight rebounds, while Parsons added eight points and six rebounds.With the inside clogged, the Owls looked for the perimeter game to get going. The team, however, shot 28.6 percent (16-of-56) for the game, including 25.0 percent from long range (6-of-24).While the offense had its struggles, Kenyon’s defense showed signs of improvement, racking up 13 steals and a pair of blocks, while forcing 17 turnovers. The Quakers managed to persevere, though, and moved ahead by as many as 17 points in the third quarter.Over the final few minutes of play, the Owls made one last push, getting as close as six points, once again, after a jumper from first-year Kiana Mollabashy found its mark with 52 seconds remaining.That forced Kenyon into a position in which it had to foul. The Quakers, who were just 8-of-14 on free throws, wound up making four of their last six attempts to seal the win.Mollabashy ended up leading the Owls offense with a dozen points. She also had five rebounds and two steals. Hardy finished with eight points, six of those at the free throw line, and a team-high nine rebounds. Alyssa Gest and Horsley each finished with seven points, and, together, combined for 10 steals.Kenyon will remain at home for its next game, which will be a non-conference contest against Bluffton University on Tuesday night.
