GAMBIER, Ohio -- Before the Kenyon College women's basketball team took the court for its regular-season finale against Hiram College, the squad celebrated a pair of Owls on Senior Day. Claudia Cooke and Lauryn Rauschenberger were recognized before tipoff, kicking off an exciting atmosphere in Tomsich Arena. Cooke led the team in scoring, and the Owls were on top throughout most of the game, but the Terriers took the last lead on a walk-off buzzer-beater that clinched a 45-44 victory.

Hiram (9-16, 4-10 NCAC) hit the first and last shots of the game, but Kenyon (3-22, 1-13 NCAC) was in control for nearly 24 minutes and trailed on the scoreboard for less than eight. In fact, the Owls only trailed for 40 seconds in the first half after Hiram took a 2-0 edge early and later held a brief 18-17 advantage late in the second quarter, and the visitors never went up by more than two.

It was a grind for both teams on the offensive side for the first three quarters, and, despite shooting 3-for-11 overall and 0-for-4 from three-point range, Kenyon held an 8-6 first-quarter lead after holding Hiram to just 2-11 overall and 0-3 from three. The Terriers left six points at the free-throw line in the frame, but fouls would play a part as the action continued.

After going scoreless in the first, Cooke scored five second-quarter points, including four over an early 8-0 run that helped Kenyon maintain momentum and build its largest margin of the game at 16-7. The Terriers responded with an 11-1 run to go ahead 18-17, but a Cooke free throw knotted it up before first-year Skye Shepherd drilled a deep triple to reclaim the lead before heading into the locker room. 

Cooke took the lid off the basket in a third quarter that saw Hiram pull even by the end at 29-29 despite shooting just 3-of-16 from the floor. Kenyon, whose shooting percentage improved each quarter, shot 4-of-12 in the frame, but the Terriers were plus-four from the charity stripe and plus-three from downtown while taking advantage of second-chance points and Kenyon turnovers.

The offenses found some traction in the fourth and final frame, and the increased scoring led to a rollercoaster quarter that featured nine lead changes and five ties. Cooke accounted for six of Kenyon's 15 points, but a crucial sequence came under the two-minute mark as the center was called for two fouls in less than a minute, her fourth and fifth of the game.

Despite facing a two-point, 43-41 deficit with 33 seconds remaining and without their leading scorer, the Owls tied things up with 14 seconds remaining after Anissa Hardy grabbed an offensive board and made a putback bucket. After forcing a Hiram miss, Hardy drew a foul during the rebound that sent her to the line with a chance to put Kenyon on top with six seconds left. The sophomore missed the first free throw but came in clutch by converting the second to give Kenyon a one-point edge. However, Hiram's Lizzy Scharer sent the visitors into a frenzy when she drove into the lane and made a tough, contested layup in traffic as the buzzer sounded, clinching a Terriers triumph.

Cooke tallied game highs with 13 points and three blocks, shooting 7-for-10 at the free-throw line and adding five rebounds. Alyssa Gest was second with nine points and tied Grace Murphy with a game-high 37 minutes played, but the sophomore shot just 3-of-17 from the floor and was 1-for-9 from three-point range. Hardy hauled in a team-leading 10 rebounds and scored seven points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting, and first-year Melana Pomerants tied a season-high with eight rebounds while adding seven points, her second-highest scoring output this season.

Though their regular season is in the rearview mirror, the Owls will shift their sights to the postseason. Kenyon heads into the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament as the No. 7 seed, and the Owls will face No. 2-seeded Wittenberg University in a quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday, February 20.