ERIE, Pa. – In a season-opening basketball game that featured nine lead changes and six tied scores, the Washington and Jefferson College Presidents outscored the Kenyon College Ladies 6-3 in the final minute and escaped with a 58-56 victory in the first round of the Penn State-Behrend Tip-Off Tournament.

With 2:13 left in the game, Kenyon senior Lauren Kriete buried a three-pointer to give the Ladies a 53-52 lead. Both teams missed shots on their next possession, but with 58 seconds showing on the clock Washington and Jefferson's Taylor Cortazzo knocked down a three of her own. Kenyon misfired at the other end again and the Presidents responded with two free throws from Danni Medovich.

That gave the Presidents a 57-53 lead, but it quickly shrunk back down to one point after Kenyon senior Sarah Hobbs connected on a three-ball with 11 seconds remaining. Hobbs followed up with a quick foul, sending Medovich back to the line with ten ticks left. This time, Medovich hit the first, but missed the second free throw. Kriete grabbed the rebound and pushed the ball upcourt. Kenyon got a good look at a layup to tie the game, but the shot was blocked by Valerie Dunlap, who preserved the win for the Presidents.

Although the game came down to the wire, the most noticeable stat differential came in the free throw column, where Kenyon was just 3-of-9 (33.3 percent) and Washington and Jefferson was 17-of-23 (73.9 percent). Junior Beka Bellhy alone outshot Kenyon the line. She was 10-for-15 and finished with a game-high 23 points. Cortazzo and Medovich ended up with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Hobbs led Kenyon with 13 points and 11 rebounds.  Freshman Ifeoma Archimalo had a nice debut, scoring a team-high 14 points for the Ladies. Sidney Cera added nine points and Kriete finished with eight.

The Ladies will get right back to action Sunday, finishing off the Penn State-Behrend Tip-Off Tournament with a 1 p.m. game against the host Lions.