TIFFIN, OHIO – After a short holiday break, the Kenyon College women’s basketball team hit the road for one last contest before sinking into the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) schedule, a clash with Heidelberg University.
The Owls jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter and had impressive double-digit point outings from first-years Alyssa Horsley, Kiana Mollabashy and Katherine Organ, but a lights-out performance in the fourth quarter helped Heidelberg hang on for the 70-53 victory.
Horsley and Mollabashy, Kenyon’s (2-9) two leading scorers for the 2024-2025 season thus far, started the contest hot, combining for nine out of 12 points for the Owls, who took a four point lead with less than 90 seconds to play in the opening quarter.
Heidelberg (1-8) claimed the final points of the first to take its first lead of the game, and built on it early in the second frame, holding a 17-12 lead with just under a minute gone. Kenyon spread the ball more in the second, as Mollabashy, Horsley, Grace Murphy, and Megan Lieb all found the net and orchestrated an 8-2 run to reclaim the lead at 20-19 with 6:55 to play in the half, shooting 80 percent from the field in the process.
Similar to the first quarter, the home team bounced back with a run of their own to close the half, rattling off a 9-6 mark to take a narrow 28-26 lead after 20 minutes.
The third quarter was the weakest offensively for Kenyon, shooting 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from the field and putting up 11 points, the fewest of the evening in any quarter. Heidelberg had a strong third frame, scoring 17 points on 45 percent shooting, allowing the home team to build a 45-37 lead after three.
The Owls turned it around in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to keep up with the sensational shooting of the Student Princes. Horsley and Organ each turned in their best offensive outputs of the night, scoring seven and six points respectively, but the home team iced any chance of a comeback with a whopping 25-point fourth on 66.7 percent shooting from the field and 66.6 percent shooting from three. In the end, Heidelberg took the game 70-53 and captured its first win of the season.
Horsley led the way offensively with 15 points and dished three assists. Mollabashy followed with ten and led the team in rebounds (4) and steals (7). She matched points with Organ, who shot a team best 80 percent from the field and wnt 2-of-2 from the line for a new career-high in points.
The loss drops Kenyon’s record to 2-9 on the season. The Owls will kick off 2025 with a conference rivalry matchup, hosting Denison University on January 4 at 1:00 pm from Tomsich Arena in Gambier.
