A second-half flurry powered the Denison women's basketball team to a 66-50 victory over North Coast Athletic Conference rival Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday at Livingston Gymnasium.

The Battling Bishops led by as many as five late in the opening period before taking a 26-23 lead into the break.  Denison quickly regained the lead in the second period with back-to-back buckets from first-year Alyx Ingram and junior Serafina Nuzzo.

Trailing 30-29 early in the second half, the Big Red rattled off eight straight to take a seven-point advantage.  During that stretch, rookie Lydia Harlan found Nicole Coggins, Jane Windler and Nuzzo for scores on three-straight possessions.

Ohio Wesleyan trimmed the deficit to five on multiple occasions, including a 52-47 score with 6:25 left in regulation.  However, a 7-0 run that featured scoring from Annie-Rae Dura, Harlan, Coggins and Mary Margaret Habel helped the Big Red secure the 16-point victory.

Denison shot 38 percent from the field, and registered 17 assists off 23 converted attempts.  The Big Red also shot an 81-percent clip (17-for-21) from the charity stripe.  OWU hit 30 percent from the field and 84 percent from the foul line.  DU also scored twice as many second chance points (20-10) and outrebounded the Bishops 46-33.

Nuzzo finished with a game-high 17 points, four assists and three steals, while Coggins chipped in 12 points on 6-of-11 from the field in 36 minutes of action.  Dura grabbed a game-best 11 rebounds, while Harlan finished with six boards, six assists, three steals and a block.

Sarah McQuade paced Ohio Wesleyan with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Tamra Londot and Mary Corbett each chipped in eight tallies.

The Big Red improved to 11-3 overall and 4-1 in the NCAC, while the Bishops fall to 5-9 and 1-4 in the league.  Denison returns to action on Saturday when they travel to Wittenberg University.  Tip-off from Springfield is slated for 1 p.m.