SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – In a tough shooting night for both teams, the Kenyon College defense made all the difference Wednesday during the Ladies' 48-45 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) victory at Wittenberg University.

The Ladies gave up just six field goals in each half and pestered Wittenberg into a 12-of-55 (21.5 percent) shooting collapse. That performance didn't get any better beyond the three-point arc, where the Tigers were 5-of-23 (21.7 percent). The Ladies, however, could not defend free throws and Wittenberg stayed in the game by going 16-of-20 at the charity stripe.

The disparity at the line was huge, as Kenyon was afforded just five free throws and made three of them. From the field, the Ladies were 21-of-65 (32.3 percent), including a forgettable 3-of-21 showing (14.3 percent) from long range.

Despite the shooting struggles, Wittenberg started the game by canning three of its first five three-point attempts. That boosted the Tigers to a 9-2 lead, but Kenyon answered with three straight layups from Miranda Diesz, Ifeoma Archimalo and Lane Davis. A free throw from Davis and a three-pointer from Hannah O'Day got the Ladies to the conclusion of the first quarter locked in a 12-12 tie.

In the second quarter, the teams went scoreless until Kenyon junior Charlotte Bussema converted a three-point play at the 5:34 mark. The game remained tight, but Kenyon made it to halftime with a 24-21 lead.

The Ladies (11-6, 5-3 NCAC) scored the first six points of the third quarter and built their largest lead (30-21) with 6:49 showing on the clock. Shortly after that, Wittenberg players began their march to the free throw line, making 11 out of 12 free throws to close out the quarter with a 36-35 advantage.

Kenyon junior Bailey Dominguez buried a three-pointer to open the fourth frame and gave the Ladies the lead for good. Sophomore Griffin Tullis followed with consecutive hoops and ended up scoring six of her team-high ten points in the game's final nine minutes.

After Tullis' back-to-back field goals, the Tigers (4-11, 3-5 NCAC) never got closer than the final margin of three points.

Dominguez followed Tullis' ten points with eight of her own and both Bussema and Sidney Cera added six to the Kenyon total. Davis concluded her night with seven points and Archimalo led the Ladies in rebounding with eight boards.

Wittenberg got a game-high 11 points from Becca Ziska and a game-high 15 rebounds from Michelle Brunswick.

Kenyon has won five of its last six games and will next head to Hiram College on Saturday for another NCAC contest with the Terriers at 1 p.m.