GAMBIER, Ohio – Kenyon College overwhelmed the visiting Allegheny College Gators in the first half of Saturday's women's basketball matchup at Tomsich Arena as the Ladies won 70-51. The North Coast Athletic Conference victory moved Kenyon's record to 10-5 and 4-3 in the league.
 
After the first two quarters, the Ladies had shot 50 percent from the field and built a 39-21 lead.
 
Paige Matijasich and Sharon Hull led Kenyon with 13 points apiece while Lane Davis made all six of her field goal attempts for 12 points. As a team, the Ladies were dominant in the paint, outscoring the Gators 38-16.
 
First-quarter action saw the Ladies get off on the right foot, as their first three made shots were all layups within the game's first two minutes. Matijasich helped the Ladies build that advantage to 12 points, 15-3, after she sank a jumper from Jessica Gerber at the 5:34 mark. By the end of the period, Kenyon led 19-11.
 
A fast start early in the second really opened up the lead for Kenyon. An 11-3 run capped off by an Ellie Schaub fast-break layup at 6:42 moved the home team's advantage to 30-14. That forced an Allegheny timeout. Schaub paced the team with five points during that stretch while Hull added four.
 
By halftime, the Ladies led 39-21 while hitting 17-of-34 from the field. On the other sideline, the Gators managed to hit just 8-of-27 (29.6 percent).
 
In the third and fourth quarters, Kenyon continued its solid offensive showing as it hit 46 percent in both periods. Grace Connery gave the team its biggest lead in the third, 57-35, after sinking two free throws. Then in the fourth, Matijasich came up with a steal and finished on the fast break to push the lead to 70-44.
 
By game's end, the home squad had hit 48.4 percent from the field while holding Allegheny to a 30 percent clip.
 
The Ladies will return to action on January 9 when they travel to Ohio Wesleyan University for a 6 p.m. game.