GAMBIER, Ohio -- Alyssa Gest's jump shot was firing on all cylinders tonight in Tomsich Arena, and the Owls soared to victory behind the first-year's sweet shooting. Gest scored a game-high 21 points and did most of her damage from behind the three-point arc, hitting five of seven shots from downtown before icing the game from the free throw line to propel the Kenyon College women's basketball team to a 62-57 win against the Hiram College Terriers.
It was Gest's second time surpassing 20 points this season, and she did so with incredible efficiency. The Columbus, Ohio, native shot 6-9 overall, 5-7 from three-point range, and a perfect 4-4 from the charity stripe while chipping in a rebound, an assist, and a block for good measure.
Kenyon needed every bit of the first-year's hot shooting as the rest of the team shot just 17-44 (38.6%) from the field and 1-12 (8.3%) from downtown, but several other Owls offered significant contributions. Katie Orefice stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Down low, first-year Anissa Hardy grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, one shy of a season-high, while chipping in four points. Claudia Cooke also did damage inside, scoring 11 points to go with four boards.
Gest was feeling it from the word go as she scored the game's first bucket on the first shot of the night, a trifecta off an assist from Orefice. The rest of the Owls took a while to find their strokes as Kenyon shot just 2-14 overall and 0-7 from downtown for the rest of the first period, but the home team hung around and was down 11-9 after 10 minutes.
Hiram built a five-point, 18-13 lead with 6:26 left in the half, but that marked Kenyon's largest deficit of the game. Gest hit three threes on three attempts to close the half, exploding for a personal 9-3 run that helped the Owls tie things up 26-26 at the half.
The Terriers took the lead to start the third quarter, but Cooke converted an and-one layup that put Kenyon ahead for good. Cooke rattled off seven points over an 11-2 Owls run before an Orefice jump shot gave Kenyon its largest lead of the night at 37-29. Hiram battled back to pull within three, but Megan Lieb banked in a buzzer-beating bucket to send the Owls to the fourth up 42-37.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair that saw each team score 20 points, and the Owls mixed timely makes with timely stops to maintain their edge. Hiram cut the lead to one, 49-48, with 4:30 to play, but Bela Krslovic connected on a crucial three-pointer on the next trip. Gest sealed the deal by scoring Kenyon's final six points, boosting the Owls to a 6-12 record and a 2-5 mark against North Coast Athletic Conference foes.
After defending its home court, Kenyon embarks on a three-game road trip, starting with a 2 p.m. matchup against nearby Denison University (7-11, 2-5 NCAC) on Saturday, Jan. 28.
