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KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A four-minute run, late in the third quarter of Saturday’s game, gave the host Kalamazoo College Hornets all the separation they needed to shake free from the Kenyon College women’s basketball team and produce a 77-63 non-conference victory.
The previously winless Hornets, now 1-4, put it all together during that run and turned what was a close contest into a runaway. The burst saw Kalamazoo outscore Kenyon 16-5. The Hornets connected on 3-of-4 three-point attempts in the run, forced two Kenyon turnovers, and held the Owls to 2-of-7 shooting during the stretch.
Prior to the run, Kenyon’s Kiana Mollabashy drained in a three-pointer, one that tied the game at 42-42 with a little more than five minutes left in the third quarter. After the run, the Hornets carried a 58-44 lead in the final frame.
Over the last 10 minutes of play, Kenyon made a push, but never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way. The Owls did force four turnovers and held the Hornets to just three field goals in the fourth, but Kalamazoo made 12-of-14 free throws to put the game away.
Back at the start of the game, the Hornets jumped out to an early seven-point lead. Lauren Vanderstelt was the catalyst, scoring six first-quarter points on a pair of three-pointers. Kenyon, trailing 16-11 at the first intermission, stayed consistent with its play down low and it began to pay off.
In the second quarter senior center Anissa Hardy came through for the Owls, scoring seven straight points, including the conversion of a three-point play. Her efforts pulled the Owls even at 18-18. After that, sophomore Alyssa Horsley took over, scoring the Owls’ next five points and giving Kenyon its first lead at 23-22 with about five minutes left in the half.
Throughout the game, Hardy and Horsley accounted for nearly half of Kenyon’s offense, combining for 31 of the Owls’ 63 points. Hardy finished with a team-high 18 points, while Horsley tallied 13. Sophomore Susannah Zimmerman came alive late in the game, scoring six of her 11 points in the fourth quarter.
On the boards, Hardy contributed a team-high nine rebounds, while Mollabashy, who had seven points, added seven more rebounds to the Owls’ total.
Kenyon, now with a 3-2 record, shot well from the free throw line, going 21-of-25 (84.0 percent), but struggled from the field, going 19-of-57 (33.3 percent) overall.
For Kalamazoo, Vanderstelt posted game-highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Ruby Hogan also scored 19 and Alyse Baughman added 11 for the Hornets.
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