GAMBIER, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University deployed a strong defensive game plan and complemented it with an impressive showing at the free throw line to upset Kenyon College, 63-52, in Tuesday's quarterfinal round of the North Coast Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament.

Kenyon was no slouch on the defensive end either, holding the Battling Bishops to a 17-of-52 (32.7 percent) shooting night and forcing 13 turnovers. The Ladies, however, could not stop Ohio Wesleyan from getting to the line. Kenyon was dinged for 20 personal fouls, resulting in a 21-of-25 free-throw shooting spree for the Battling Bishops.

At the other end of the floor, Kenyon drew 10 fouls and was 5-of-8 at the charity stripe. To make matters worse for the Ladies, they shot 19-of-63 (30.2 percent) from the field.

Trailing for most of the game, the Kenyon women sent up a flurry of three-pointers. In fact, they set a program single-game record with 39 three-point attempts, but only nine of those long balls were converted.

Freshman Grace Connery did her best to keep the Ladies in the game, sinking 6-of-14 three-point attempts and finishing with a team-high 18 points. The rest of the team, however, was 3-of-25 (12.0 percent) from beyond the arc.

Junior Paige Matijasich, Kenyon's leading scorer, had an off night shooting, but still managed to post 10 points and 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season. Senior Lane Davis, playing in her final game for the Ladies, scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds, while classmate Jessica Gerber handed out seven assists, giving her 135 helpers for the season—a new program record.

The lead changed six different times during the first half, but Kenyon never really broke away until the midway point of the second quarter. That's when Connery hit a trio of three-pointers in a three-minute span to give the Ladies a 22-16 lead.

Ohio Wesleyan then quickly changed the momentum, going on a 9-0 run to close out the quarter with a 25-22 halftime edge.

At 3:22 in the third quarter, Matijasich buried her only three-pointer of the game and gave Kenyon a 34-33 lead, which turned out to be its final advantage. Ohio Wesleyan followed with an 18-6 tear to finish the quarter and seize control of the game. The Ladies never got closer than sixth points over the final 10 minutes of play.

Tia Karras led the Battling Bishops with 15 points. Claire Sterling scored nine and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, while Leah Maniaci, who averaged 3.3 points per contest, hit a trio of three-pointers and scored a dozen points.

Ohio Wesleyan (11-15) moves on to the tournament semifinals to face Denison University. Kenyon (17-9) closes out its season with just its second quarterfinal loss in its last 15 NCAC Tournament appearances.