WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- The Albion College Britons set the stage for an 80-61 victory Wednesday by putting together a 10-2 first quarter run that provided all the separation they needed from the Kenyon College women's basketball team.

The contest marked the opening day of the Smokey Ballenger Classic, a four-team event hosted by Otterbein University. It also marked the second time Kenyon and Albion met this season. Back in November, Albion recorded a 57-39 win against Kenyon during the second day of the Trine University Classic.

Wednesday's win was the eighth in a row for the Britons, who moved their record to 11-1, the best start to a season in their program's history. The non-conference loss dropped Kenyon to 3-9.

The Ladies hung with the Britons for most of the first quarter. They opened with an early lead, tied the game at 11-11 and then pulled within one point at 17-16. Shortly after that, however, the Britons put together the 10-2 run that ultimately decided the game.

During the Albion run, the Ladies managed just two free throws. On the other side of the court, Becca Ross and Audrey DeWaters each pumped in four points for the Britons, who took a 27-28 lead into the second quarter.

The Ladies never got closer than nine points the rest of the way. The Britons got to halftime with a 45-32 lead and then increased their advantage to 60-42 by the end of the third quarter.

Senior Grace Connery led the Kenyon offense with a career-best 21 points. Her previous best was 19 during a game against University of Chicago in the 2019-20 season. Against Albion, Connery was 7-of-16 overall and 6-of-12 from three-point territory. She also tacked on a team-best nine rebounds.

Katie Orefice went 6-of-6 at the free throw line and added 15 points to the Kenyon total, while Claudia Cooke chipped in with 10 points in 17 minutes of work

Thanks in part to Connery, Kenyon shot better, as a team, from long range (41.7 percent) than it did overall (38.6 percent). 

Albion followed a different strategy, taking close shots and piling up a huge 56-14 advantage on points scored in the paint. The Britons, who shot 47.3 percent overall, were led by Lolo Reed and Dareonna Little. Those two each scored 13 points and combined for 17 rebounds, helping the Britons build a 41-25 margin on the boards.

The Ladies will move on to play Mount Saint Joseph University (3-7) at 1 p.m. in tomorrow's second and final day of the Smokey Ballenger Classic. Prior to the Kenyon and Albion game Wednesday, Mount Saint Joseph fell to host Otterbein, 74-57.