After rolling through the first half of the 2010-11 season with a perfect 12-0 record and ranking among the nation's leaders in margin of victory at +22.3, the Big Red seemed due for a good old fashioned slugfest.

For 35 of the game's 40 minutes the Kenyon Ladies looked as if they were going to provide the first blemish on the Big Red's ledger this season.  Thanks to an outstanding defensive scheme, strong offensive rebounding and some critical 3-point baskets, Kenyon kept Denison at bay and off-kilter.  In the end, Denison mounted a furious 16-1 rally, resulting in a 72-69 victory from Livingston Gymnasium.

Despite one backbreaking play after another by the likes of Kenyon's Maureen Hirt, Kayla Ernst, and Morgan Korinek, Denison was shocked back to life with 3:48 to play when Shaina Kaiser (Ostrander, Ohio/Buckeye Valley) followed with a basket down low off an offensive rebound by Annie-Rae Dura (Westerville, Ohio/Central).  After trailing by as many as 13 points with just under eight minutes to play, suddenly the Big Red found themselves in a two possession game and the light seemed to go off in the collective minds of the Sara Lee's squad.

Denison sent full-court pressure at Kenyon and that set off the biggest sequence of the night.  Trailing 64-58 with 3:08 to play Serafina Nuzzo (Western Springs, Ill./Fenwick), who had yet to score a point after being saddled with foul trouble for much of the night, found Nicole Coggins (Mesa, Ariz./Corona Del Sol) cutting to the basket off the inbounds pass, trimming the Kenyon advantage to four.  A split second later, Nuzzo stepped in front of Kenyon's Maggie Boelter, who was taking the inbounds for the Ladies, and stole the ball and sank the layup, cutting what was just four minutes ago a pretty hefty deficit, down to just two points at 64-62.

The next two possessions for Kenyon would result in turnovers and with 1:52 to play Nuzzo knifed into the lane and connected on a left-handed scoop to tie the game at 64-64.  On the Ladies next possession, a foul by Dura sent Korinek to the free throw line where she split the pair, giving the lead back to Kenyon with 1:29 to play.

Kaiser, who posted a masterful season-high 27 points, will remember the ensuing 26 second for quite sometime.  After Kenyon split at the free throw line Nuzzo brought the ball up the floor and quickly found Kaiser who spotted up and drilled a 15-foot jumper from the right wing, giving DU their first lead since late in the first half.  At the other end, Kaiser jumped in front of a pass intended for Hirt and took off for the other end of the floor.  Kaiser sensed the footsteps and utilized a jump stop to elude the defender and calmly sank the basket, lifting her team to a 68-65 lead with 47 seconds to play.

On the Ladies' next possession they would attempt three shots, two of which were game-tying 3-point try's, and all three shots hit the back iron with the final resulting in a rebound by Denison's Jessica Grzybowski (Parma, Ohio/Padua).

Nuzzo would convert a pair of free throws to push the lead to five points and cap off a 16-1 run by the Big Red.  With 15 ticks left on the clock Kenyon's Hirt drilled her fourth 3-point basket of the night, cutting the Denison lead to 70-68.  Forced to foul, Kenyon's Kat Powers sent Nuzzo to the line where she connected on both free throws to clinch the improbable victory.

Kaiser finished the night 11-of-19 from the field for 27 points.  She also posted seven rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks in a season-high 39 minutes of action.  Christina Myers (Pastaskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) scored 11 points while going 5-of-9 from the field and Haley Dahlgard (Walnut Creek, Calif./Northgate) reached double figures with 10 points off a 4-for-10 shooting performance.  Grzybowski finished with six points and nine rebounds while Nuzzo tallied eight points, all in the final three minutes of the contest.  The point guard also dished out a team-high six assists in just 26 minutes.

Kenyon (7-6, 1-1 NCAC) was led by Hirt and Ernst and Korinek who combined for 57 of the team's 69 points.  Hirt led the way with 22 points and Ernst followed with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Korinek chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Denison improves to 13-0 overall and 2-0 in the NCAC with the victory.  They will return to action this Saturday when they travel to Delaware, Ohio for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against Ohio Wesleyan.