GAMBIER, Ohio – Friday evening's basketball game will mark the ninth consecutive season in which the Kenyon College Ladies played in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal round. The Ladies are the tournament's No. 2 seed and will be playing at DePauw University against Allegheny College, the tournament's No. 3 seed. The semifinal game starts at 6 p.m.

Kenyon (19-7) and Allegheny (15-11) split the regular-season series. The Gators took a 49-47 win in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and the Ladies captured a 57-44 victory at home in the final game of the regular season. DePauw, the tournament's No. 1 seed and the top-ranked team in the nation, hosts Wittenberg University (13-13) at 8 p.m. in Friday's other semifinal game. Because DePauw (26-0) earned the top seed, it will also host Saturday's championship game, which is slated for a 7 p.m. start.

While the Ladies have had great success in making it to the semifinal round, they have had limited success in getting through to the finals. The last time the team made it to that championship game was at the end of the 2005-06 season.

In order to end that dry spell, the Ladies will rely on the offensive prowess of senior Kayla Ernst and junior Maureen Hirt. Ernst, a 5-11 post player, has 516 points this season and is just six points shy of reaching the program's single-season scoring record. Her average of 19.8 points per game ranks first on the team, first in the NCAC, and 21st among all players in NCAA Division III. Her output is greatly influenced by her accuracy. Ernst ranks 34th in the nation in free throw shooting percentage (.884) and 16th in field goal percentage (.541).

Hirt, a 5-9 guard, owns some pretty impressive numbers, as well. She leads the nation in free throw percentage (.923) and ranks 23rd in the NCAA with an average of 2.64 three-pointers made per contest. Heading into Friday's game, Hirt is 67-of-174 from long distance and her scoring average of 16.2 points per game is second-best on the team and third-best in the NCAC.

The Ladies, who average 64.2 points per game as a team, are not entirely about offense. In fact, the Kenyon women boast the third-best defense in the NCAC, allowing opponents an average of just 55.8 points per game.

At the other end of the court, Allegheny averages 59.8 points per game and yields just 54.0 points per game. The Gators defense ranks second in the conference with 274 steals and ranks third in the conference in defensive field goal percentage (.360).

From an offensive standpoint, senior forward Daryl Ford leads the Gators with a scoring average of 13.1 points per game. She also possesses a team-best average of 7.5 rebounds per game. In the two games earlier this season against Kenyon, Ford was held to a combined 19 points, but did manage to grab a total of 17 rebounds.

Ticket prices for Friday's and Saturday's games will be $10 for adults and $5 for children (18 and under), students without a valid ID, and anyone with an NCAC guest pass. Any NCAC student with a valid school ID will be admitted free of charge.