GAMBIER, Ohio – Oberlin College (16-6, 11-2 NCAC) erased a five-point halftime deficit and made life extremely uneasy for the Kenyon women's basketball team in the second half as the visitors claimed a 47-39 North Coast Athletic Conference victory on Wednesday night.
With the win, Oberlin's eighth in a row, it moved the team into a tie for second place with the Ladies who dropped to 18-4 and 11-2 in conference action.
In the second half alone, Oberlin gave up just five made field goals on 29 attempts as it outscored Kenyon 27-14. For the Ladies, their overall shooting percentage of 26.8 was its second lowest this season and their 39 total points were a season low.
Ellie Schaub was the only Kenyon player to score in double figures as she tallied 12.
Griffin Tullis added seven points, six rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists while
Jessica Gerber and
Paige Matijasich each tallied six points.
First-quarter action was rather slow as Oberlin led 10-9. Down 4-0, Oberlin responded with six straight to a take a 6-4 lead at 5:50 after an Abby Andrews jumper. With less than a minute left, Jasmine Sorrells scored, moving the count to 10-6. By the end of the quarter, Schaub converted an and-one bringing the Oberlin lead to 10-9.
In the second, Kenyon's three-point shooting ability came through. Down 14-11, Schaub started a 9-0 run with a long ball at 7:19. Gerber and Tullis added three-balls after that and Kenyon led 20-14 with about five minutes left. Later, Gerber hit another three-pointer moving the Ladies up 25-18, and by halftime, they led 25-20.
The offensive traction that was found in the second quarter, however, wasn't carried over.
In the third period, Kenyon hit just two shots: a jumper from Tullis and a layup from
Lane Davis with less than a minute left. On the other side, Oberlin found a couple shots and a few free throws to bring the score to 29-27.
Then in the fourth, the Yeowomen doubled up the Ladies outscoring the home team 20-10. Trailing by one, Olivia Canning's and-one conversion moved the scoreboard to 34-32. Oberlin never lost the lead after that. A Matijasich three-ball with 1:16 left got Kenyon within three, 42-39, but it got no closer as the Yeowomen hit five free throws down the stretch to secure victory.
Next on the schedule for Kenyon is a home date with ninth-ranked DePauw University (21-1, 13-0 NCAC) on February 10 at 1 p.m. It will be Senior Day for the Ladies.
