Box Score GAMBIER, Ohio – Kenyon College junior Maureen Hirt buried seven three-pointers in the first half of Friday night's game and guided the Ladies basketball team to an 81-50 thrashing of rival Denison University. Hirt pumped in one more three-pointer in the second half and finished with a game-high 33 points.

Hirt's scoring output was a personal season-high and tied for the fifth-best, single-game scoring mark in Ladies' history. Her 33 points came on 11-of-18 shooting (61.1 percent) from the floor, including an 8-of-14 performance from long range (57.1 percent), and a perfect 3-of-3 showing at the free throw line. Hirt, who also grabbed nine rebounds, is now averaging 18.2 points per game this season.

While Hirt was firing away from the outside, classmate Kayla Ernst provided the knockout punch from the inside. Ernst, who leads the team and ranks second in the North Coast Athletic Conference with a scoring average of 18.9 points per game, dropped 24 on Denison. She was 10-of-15 from the floor (66.6 percent) and 4-of-6 at the free throw line (66.6 percent).

The hot hands of Hirt and Ernst powered the Ladies to a season-best .571 team shooting percentage (28-of-49). That mark is tied for the fourth-best, single-game shooting percentage in Ladies' history. 

At the other end of the floor, Denison was held to 33.9 percent shooting (20-of-59). The Big Red's leading scorer Serafina Nuzzo (13.4 ppg) was held to just six points on 3-of-16 shooting. No Denison player scored more than eight points and the loss dropped the Big Red to 6-6 overall and 1-2 in the NCAC.

Denison held a lead for the first two minutes of the game, but when Hirt warmed up it was all over for the Big Red. The 5-9 guard scored 11 of Kenyon's next 16 points and dialed the Ladies' lead up to 21-12 with 11:59 still left in the half. Denison would never see another single-digit deficit the rest of the way. Kenyon went on to build a 29-point lead at halftime (54-25) and took its largest lead of 31 points on the first bucket of the second half and on the last bucket of the game.

The Ladies, now 10-3 overall and 4-0 in the NCAC, have no time to rest. They'll host Oberlin College tomorrow in another conference contest that starts at 7:30 p.m.