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GAMBIER, Ohio – The Kenyon College women’s basketball team had flashes of success against No. 18 Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday night from Tomsich Arena, but it was too little too late. The Owls fell behind early and never could quite catch up despite a strong third quarter, as the Bishops took home the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) winner 68-31.
Despite facing a 27 point deficit at the half, Kenyon (2-12, 0-4 NCAC) opened the third quarter with stout defense, holding the nationally ranked Bishops to just 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) shooting from the field and 1-of-4 (25 percent) from beyond the arc. Susannah Zimmerman led the charge for the Owls with four points while Katherine Organ and Chiara Nevard combined for the rest of the 7-to-3 run to end the third quarter.
On the defensive end of the floor, Alyssa Horsley swiped two steals and Zimmerman grabbed one to cap what was the most successful 10 minutes of the night, only falling behind 9-to-7 in the quarter, setting the score 54-25.
In the first half, Ohio Wesleyan (13-2, 4-0 NCAC) shot out to a 10-0 run in the first 3:30 of the game, and from that point the home team had trouble keeping up. The Bishops applied a tight full-court press throughout the half, causing 16 turnovers in the 20 minutes while out rebounding the Owls 20-9.
After a 27-6 opening quarter deficit, Horsley and Nevard combined for all of Kenyon’s points in the second frame, each chipping in six points on 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) shooting. Horsley would lead the team with eight points heading into halftime, shooting 4-of-5 (80 percent) as the team trailed 45-18.
Zimmerman added to her strong second half in the final quarter, leading the team with four points. She connected on a driving layup early on, and hit the final points of the contest on two free throws. Eva Winston also got involved in the fourth, driving to the hoop and finding twine for her second basket of the game. In the end, the relentless Bishops attack on both sides of the floor allowed the visitors to take the game 68-31.
First-years Horsley and Zimmerman were tied atop the stat sheet with eight points apiece. Nevard notched a career-high seven points after a nice second quarter while shooting 100 percent from the field. Kiana Mollabashy had a quiet offensive night, but added a team-high three steals on the other end.
The loss drops Kenyon to 2-12 overall and 0-4 in the NCAC. The Owls are back in action on Saturday, January 18 at 3:00 pm where the team will host DePauw.
