A 13-1 run to open the second half would be enough to power Denison to its ninth North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament championship game in program history.  The end result was a 64-49 victory by the second-seeded Big Red over third-seeded, Kenyon College.

Denison did it with defense and that formula led to plenty of offense in the second half.  With Denison clinging to a 28-22 advantage at the half, DU set the tone early in the second half.

The 13-1 run that Denison used to take a 41-23 lead in the opening four minutes came via three, 3-pointers and three consecutive turnovers by the Ladies.  Lydia Harlan started things off with a triple and Serafina Nuzzo would follow with a trey off a pass from Annie-Rae Dura, giving DU a 13-point lead.  After a Kenyon timeout failed to stop the bleeding, Nicole Coggins got going, drilling a jumper with her toe on the 3-point line.  The next time down the court she dialed up another 3-pointer and knocked it down, giving Denison its largest lead of the game at 41-23.

At that point in the game, Denison's full court pressure had limited Kenyon to a 6-for-25 shooting performance from the field while forcing them into 15 turnovers.

Despite warming up a bit from the field over the final 12 minutes of the contest, Kenyon never managed to climb back into the contest.  The closest they got was when they cut the lead to 56-43 with 4:27 to play.  That sparked a final 6-0 run by Nuzzo to put the finishing touches on the game while punching DU's ticket to Saturday's title game.

Coggins finished 7-of-13 from the field and 5-for-10 from 3-point range for a season-high 21 points in 34 minutes.  Nuzzo followed with 16 points, five assists and three steals in 36 minutes.  Harlan rounded out the top scorers with 12 points, three steals, three assists and three rebounds. 

The two teams tied 30-30 on the glass but Denison's Dura and Jane Windler led with eight boards apiece.   

Kayla Ernst led Kenyon with 18 points while going 7-of-13 from the field.  Morgan Korinek followed with 10 points and 11 rebounds.  Kenyon's season comes to a close with a 19-8 record while Denison improves to 20-7, marking the sixth 20-win season in program history.

Denison will remain in Greencastle, Ind. to take on the winner of the DePauw-Wittenberg semifinal match-up on Saturday (Feb. 25) at 7 p.m.