The Denison women's basketball team used a strong second-half performance to upend Ohio Wesleyan University 76-64 in the battle of North Coast Athletic Conference unbeatens on Saturday evening in Delaware, Ohio.

The Big Red entered tonight's game fresh off an impressive come-from-behind victory over Kenyon on Wednesday night in Granville.  DU faced another stiff conference challenge as they took on a tough Battling Bishop squad at Branch Rickey Arena.

Ohio Wesleyan used a 7-0 game-opening run to build a 13-4 lead roughly five and a half minutes into the ball game.  Despite trailing by nine points on two separate occasions, Denison rallied to trim the deficit to 17-16 at 9:49 following a pair of layups by junior post Christina Myers (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial).

The Bishops' Tyler Cordell drained a jumper in the paint to extend the lead back to three, but Denison junior Jessica Grzybowski (Parma, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) buried a three-pointer on the next possession to tie the game at 19-all.  All square at 21-21, the home team went on an 11-3 run to retake an eight-point advantage.

With less than three minutes left in the half, senior Shaina Kaiser (Ostrander, Ohio/Buckeye Valley) forced a turnover and took it the other way for an easy lay-in.  On the ensuing possession, DU had a chance to shrink the deficit even more after forcing another OWU giveaway.  After first-year Jane Windler (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) came up with an offensive rebound, sophomore point guard Serafina Nuzzo (Western Springs, Ill./Fenwick) hit a triple off an assist from Kaiser to make it a three-point contest (32-29).

Following a one-and-done for the Bishops on their next trip down the court, sophomore Nicole Coggins (Mesa, Ariz./Corona Del Sol) split a pair at the charity stripe after drawing a foul.  After a Cordell bucket extended OWU's lead to four, Denison entered the intermission down by just two (34-32) following a Coggins jumper with three seconds remaining in the half.

Grzybowski tied the game with the first bucket of the second period.  Kayla Gordon connected on a pair of free throws to give the Battling Bishops a two-point lead, but the Big Red answered with a 10-2 run to go ahead by six (44-38).  In front 46-40, sophomores Kyli Parker (Batavia, Ohio/Summit Country Day) and Lucy Follansbee (Nashville, Tenn./Harpeth Hall School) each forced an Ohio Wesleyan turnover, which helped the visiting team take a 10-point lead.

OWU trimmed the deficit to 53-46 thanks to a three-pointer by Kandis Walker, but the seven-point deficit was as close as the Bishops would get as DU maintained at least an eight-point advantage throughout the rest of the contest.

The Big Red shot 47 percent (31-for-66) from the field, while Ohio Wesleyan shot a 43 percent clip (23-for-54).  Denison outrebounded the Bishops 41-27.  DU also held the advantage in second-chance points (15-3) and fast break points (12-2).

Coggins led all scorers with a career-high tying 17 points in 35 minutes.  The second-year player went 7-for-13 from the floor, including 2-for-4 from 3-point range.  Kaiser recorded 12 points, a game-high nine rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals, while Nuzzo finished with a career-high 11 assists to go along with seven points and four boards.  Follansbee finished with 12 tallies off the bench, while Myers logged 11 points and eight rebounds.

Gordon and Cordell each scored 15 to pace the Battling Bishop offense, while Pam Quigney and Walker added 12 and 10 points, respectively.  Gordon also grabbed eight rebounds for OWU.

Denison improves to 14-0 overall and 3-0 in the NCAC, while Ohio Wesleyan falls to 6-8 on the year and 2-1 in the league.  DU returns to action on Wednesday (Jan. 12) when they travel to Oberlin.  Tip-off against the Yeowomen is slated for 7:30 p.m.