The Denison women's basketball team kicked off the North Coast Athletic Conference schedule with a 56-42 victory over Oberlin on Wednesday night at Livingston Gymnasium.

With the score tied at 10-10, the Yeowomen took their first lead of the game when Eleanor Van Buren knocked down a three-pointer with 12:20 to play in the opening half.  Now trailing 15-12, the Big Red rattled off nine-straight points to regain a six-point lead.  Oberlin closed the gap to 23-21, but a 6-3 scoring edge over the final 2:41 sent DU into the break with a 29-24 lead.

The Yeowomen hit back-to-back shots early in the second half to shrink the deficit to 29-28.  Denison answered the consecutive scores with a 12-4 run that put the home team in front by nine with 14 minutes to play. Leading 45-36, freshman Jordan Holmes and junior Mary Margaret Habel each scored in the paint to extend the DU lead to 13.

After Oberlin trimmed the deficit to 10 with a trio of free throws, Holmes converted a pair of layups that gave Denison its largest lead of the night at 53-39.  Junior guard Candise Love connected on 3-of-4 free throw attempts over the final minute and a half to secure the 14-point win.

The Big Red outscored the Yeowomen in the paint, 28-12, and got 23 points from their bench compared to 13 from the Oberlin reserves.  DU held a 51-40 advantage on the glass and scored 12 points off 11 offensive rebounds.  On the flip side, the Yeowomen managed just two points off 12 offensive boards.

Holmes posted her seventh-straight double-double and just missed her second triple-double.  She finished the night with 14 points on 6-of-9 from the field and a 2-for-3 performance at the charity stripe.  She also pulled down a career-high 21 rebounds and logged eight blocks in 35 minutes.  Holmes' 21 boards are the most in a single game since Robin Jones' 24 rebound performance in the 1986-87 season.

Habel finished the night with 10 points and five rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.  Love scored seven points and dished out a season-high tying six assists.  Sophomore Kellie Arter also chipped in seven points, while senior Gretchen Staubach logged six rebounds.

Christina Marquette and Lindsey Bernhardt each recorded 10 points and three steals for Oberlin.  Marquette and Katie Lucaites had eight rebounds apiece.  Malisa Hoak led the team with five steals, while Lucaites finished with three of the Yeowomen's five blocks.

Denison improves to 7-1 on the year and 1-0 in the NCAC, while Oberlin falls to 5-4 overall and 0-1 in league play.  The Big Red wraps up its four-game home stand on Saturday (Dec. 7) when they host conference rival Ohio Wesleyan.  Tip-off from Livingston Gymnasium is scheduled for 3 p.m.