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GAMBIER, Ohio – The Kenyon College women’s basketball team ended its stint of three road games on Wednesday night and returned to Gambier to take on another North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) foe, facing off against Wittenberg University.
The Owls went basket-for-basket in the opening minutes, but missed shots and lack of rebounding allowed for more chances for the Tigers to build an advantage and take the game 63-31.
After Wittenberg (14-6, 6-3 NCAC) took a quick lead, first-year Alyssa Horsley got involved early on the stat sheet, firing two quick points on back-to-back possessions to tie the game up at four with 7:15 to play in the first.
Unfortunately those would be Kenyon’s (2-17, 0-9 NCAC) last points of the opening frame, as the Owls were held by some tight defense to just 2-of-14 (14.3 percent) shooting in the first, trailing 17-4 after 10 minutes.
Kiana Mollabashy broke the drought early in the second quarter, sinking two free throws for her first points of the evening and marking the start of the team’s best offensive quarter. For the next six minutes, Kenyon was held to just free throws, as Horsley, Megan Lieb, and Eva Winston all found twine from the charity stripe to set the score at 30-11 with 2:59 to play in the half.
To close the first 20 minutes, the Owls added four more points as Horsley and Chiara Nevard each finished in the paint, trailing 39-15 at the half.
After halftime, Grace Murphy opened the scoring with a nice layup for her first points of the night, while Horsley and Winston combined for three points to set the score 50-20 with 3:34 to play in the third. A minute later, Katherine Organ etched her first tallies of the game as well, ending the frame trailing 58-22.
Just as she did in the third, Murphy led off the quarter for Kenyon with a deep three. Winston and Organ continued their efficient halves with consecutive layups, but the lack of offense was just too much in the end, as the squad eventually fell 63-31 final.
Horsley led the Owls with 11 points, while Murphy finished next with five. Winston and Organ tied with four apiece, while Lieb led the rebounding efforts with six.
Kenyon’s record drops to 2-17 overall and 0-9 in the conference. Next up, the Owls will host Hiram on Saturday, February 7 at 2:00 pm.
