Kenyon’s strong start fades to No. 12 Ohio Wesleyan

DELAWARE, Ohio – Playing against its second top-15 ranked opponent in as many games, the Kenyon College women’s basketball team took on Ohio Wesleyan University on Wednesday night in a road North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) test. 

The Owls hung tough with the No. 12 Bishops for most of the first half thanks to solid shooting across the floor, but were not able to keep up after halftime, eventually falling 55-83.

To start the game, Kenyon was hot from beyond the arc, going 3-for-3 in the game’s first five minutes for the team’s only points. Antonia Marzini, Kiana Mollabashy and Abby Burdette each found twine and with 4:56 to play in the first, the score was 9-to-9. 

The Bishops rattled off a 10-4 run to close the quarter and forced two steals, but baskets by Rae Oberster and Anissa Hardy kept the Owls in the hunt, trailing 13-19 after 10 minutes. 

The second quarter was Kenyon’s best shooting stretch of the game, firing off a 7-for-11 (63.6 percent) mark from the floor that included one made three. After the Bishops turned up the heat with an 11-6 run to start the quarter going 5-of-7 from the field, Alyssa Gest led the team with seven of eleven points to close the quarter, knocking down a three and hitting every shot from the field. At the break, the Owls trailed 31-40, looking for a spark to cut even further into the home team’s lead. 

After the break, Kenyon’s shooting cooled from the floor, shooting just 30 percent and coughing up seven turnovers in the third. Grace Murphy led all Owls with five points in the quarter, and Gest drilled her second three of the day, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the Bishops, who expanded its lead to 58-24. 

Ohio Wesleyan didn’t slow down in the fourth, sinking a game high eleven field goals from eight different Bishops. Kenyon had a strong quarter in its own right, as five different Owls combined for five field goals and a 45.5 shooting percentage, but seven more turnovers made it tough to contend. In the end, the Bishops closed the game with the 83-55 victory, continuing the team’s 12 game win streak. 

Gest led the Owls with ten points, while Burdette and Murphy were not far behind, each scoring nine. Hardy led the team with seven boards and two blocks, and Susannah Zimmerman dished five assists. 

Kenyon’s record drops to 5-10 overall and 0-4 in the NCAC. Up next, the Owls will continue the pursuit of its first conference win and head to Greencastle, Indiana to face DePauw University on Saturday, January 17 at 1:00 p.m.

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