A 10-0 run by the Denison University women's basketball team midway through the first half helped propel the Big Red to a 61-48 victory over the Bethany College Bison on Tuesday night in Granville. The win is Denison's seventh in a row and runs DU's record to 7-1 on the season.
Bethany jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and was methodically able to expand their advantage to nine (19-10) with 10:16 left in the opening frame prompting head coach Sara Lee to call a 30-second timeout. The Big Red exploded out of the time out to hang 13-unanswered points over the next eight plus minutes to take their first lead of the night (23-19). The run was fueled by four points from first-year point guard Kyli Parker (Batavia, Ohio/Summit Country Day) and capped off by a three-pointer by junior Haley Dahlgard (Walnut Creek, Calif./Northgate).
Over the final 1:56 of the period Denison engineered a 10-3 run to take a 33-22 lead into the intermission. First-year point guard Serafina Nuzzo (Western Springs, Ill./Fenwick) closed out the run by forcing a turnover just across the time line and sinking a layup at the buzzer.
Denison enjoyed a double-digit lead for the entire second-half which included a 23-point advantage (55-32) at the 10 minute mark of the second session. Bethany netted 11 consecutive points over a five minute span to trim the margin to 55-43, but the deficit was to great to overcome as the Big Red locked up their seventh consecutive victory.
DU finished the night 28-for-68 (.412) from the field while the Bison shot 22-of-49 (.449). Bethany held a 36-32 edge on the class, but Denison committed a season-low 10 turnovers compared to 23 by the Bison.
Dahlgard led all scorers with 18 points on 8-of-13 from the field including 2-of-6 from behind the arc. Junior Shaina Kaiser (Ostrander, Ohio/Buckeye Valley) added 13 points and five rebounds, while Nuzzo and rookie Lucy Follansbee (Nashville, Tenn./Harpeth Hall School) each recorded eight tallies. Nuzzo also added six boards and seven assists, while Follansbee registered four rebounds and four blocks.
Kayla Taormina tallies 15 points and pulled down five rebounds to pace Bethany, while Renee Shepherd added 12 tallies and six boards and Taylor Kress chipped in a game-high seven rebounds.
Denison returns to action on Dec. 28 when they travel to Otterbein College for the Smokey Ballenger Classic. The Big Red opens play in Westerville against Rose-Hulman at 1 p.m.
