Despite leading by 18 points early in the second half, the Denison women's basketball needed three clutch free throws in the final 10 second to secure a 65-59 victory over Heidelberg University in their season opener on Tuesday night from Livingston Gymnasium in Granville.

Ahead 7-5 roughly seven minutes into the contest, the Big Red rattled off nine unanswered points in a three minute span to take their first double-digit lead of the game.  The run was fueled by five points from senior Haley Dahlgard (Walnut Creek, Calif./Northgate), and jumpers by junior Jessica Grzybowski (Parma, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) and sophomore Lucy Follansbee (Nashville, Tenn./Harpeth Hall School).  Up 25-17, DU closed out the half with an 8-0 run as they entered the locker room with a 16-point advantage.

The Big Red opened the second period with a layup by senior Shaina Kaiser (Ostrander, Ohio/Buckeye Valley) which gave Denison their largest lead of the night at 18 points.  After almost seven minutes of back-and-forth action, the home squad maintained a 16-point lead (48-32).  However, a lengthy DU drought allowed Heidelberg to orchestrate a 9-1 run that trimmed the lead to eight with 6:26 remaining in regulation.

Now trailing by 10 (53-43), the Berg's Kathleen Phillips drained a three with 4:54 left in the game to cut the deficit to 53-46.  Following a jumper by Follansbee, Phillips knocked down a pair of free throws to shrink the margin back to 55-48 with just over four minutes on the clock.  After pulling down a defensive board, Heidelberg's Casey Bishop drilled a triple to make it a four-point contest with 3:38 remaining in the game.

Denison got buckets from sophomore point guard Serafina Nuzzo (Western Springs, Ill./Fenwick) and junior Christina Myers (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) to regain an eight-point edge (59-51), but a pair of three-pointers by Phillips on back-to-back possessions closed the gap to 59-56 with 1:15 left in the ball game.  Coming out of a Heidelberg timeout, Kaiser drove the baseline, knocked down a layup and drew a foul with 58 ticks remaining.  After converting the old-fashioned three-point play, DU once again held a six-point edge.

However, an Emily Giel three from the left wing with 43 seconds on the clock made it a one-possession affair.  On the Big Red's next trip down the floor, Kaiser pulled down a key offensive rebound with 14.5 seconds left in the game.  The senior's fifth offensive board was awarded via possession arrow following a jump ball.

Inside the final 10 seconds, sophomore Nicole Coggins (Mesa, Ariz./Corona Del Sol) and Kaiser combined to knock down three free throws to ice the game for Denison.

The 6-foot-3 Follansbee had a career night in the season opener.  The sophomore post player notched her first-career double-double with a career-high tying 15 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.  The Nashville, Tenn. native also blocked a career-best five shots.  Kaiser finished the contest with 13 points, which moved her into ninth place on the program's all-time scoring list.  The Ostrander native needs just six points to pass Molly Baumann for eighth all-time.  Dahlgard finished with 10 points and six rebounds, while Nuzzo logged six points, six assists and 10 boards.

The Berg was led by Phillips' 19 points, and Jenny Miller's double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds).

Denison improves to 1-0 on the year, while Heidelberg falls to 0-1.  DU returns to action on Friday (Nov. 19) when they take on Bethany College at the Washington & Jefferson Classic in Washington, Pa.  Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.