In their first home game in over a month, the Big Red had four players score in double figures, including a double-double by freshman Jordan Holmes.  Those contributions helped Denison pick up a key 68-55 victory over North Coast Athletic Conference rival Kenyon on Wednesday night.

The two conference rivals battled for the first 20 minutes of play.  With the score deadlocked at 14-14, DU orchestrated a 9-2 spurt that gave the home team its largest lead of the period.  However, the Ladies responded with a 10-1 run of their own to regain a 26-24 edge. Denison kept it close of the final two minutes. With the scored tied at 30-30, freshman Gabrielle Nottage buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Big Red into the locker room with a three-point lead.

Despite trailing the first 11 and a half minutes of the second half, Kenyon never fell behind by more than two possessions.  Ahead 50-46 with 8:50 left in regulation, Denison went on a 12-2 run over the course of four minutes to build a 14-point lead, its largest of the night.

The Ladies shrunk the deficit to nine behind a Maureen Hirt three with 2:50 to play, but three-straight one-and-done possessions down the stretch extinguished the comeback bid.

Entering tonight's game Kenyon and Denison ranked 11th in the nation in field-goal percentage and field-goal percentage defense, respectively.  The Big Red defense has held opponents to a 32.2 percentage through 14 games, while the Ladies offense was converting at a 45.2-percent clip through its first 13 contests.

On this night, defense prevailed as DU held Kenyon to a 32.3 conversion rate from the floor (20-for-62). Denison senior Paige Williams, who defended Hirt for the majority of the night, played a key role in the defensive success. Williams held the NCAC's leader in field-goal percentage to a 3-for-12 performance (25 percent) from the floor. Hirt, who boasts the ninth-best three-point field-goal percentage in the nation, also went just 2-for-7 from long range (28.6 percent).

The Big Red offense went 23-for-54 (42.6 percent) from the field, including a 7-for-16 (43.8 percent) performance from three-point range.  Denison outrebounded the Ladies 42-33 and got a huge lift from its bench, outscoring the Kenyon reserves, 24-7.

Holmes posted her 10th double-double of the season after scoring 18 points and grabbing 19 rebounds, both game highs, to along with four blocks. The freshman post went 6-for-13 from the field and 6-for-10 at the foul line in 37 minutes of play.  Kellie Arter provided the biggest spark off the bench, scoring 14 points on 5-of-11 from the field, including a 4-for-8 night beyond the arc. Candise Love and Gretchen Staubach also posted double figures with 12 and 11, respectively.

Maggie Boelter paced Kenyon with 16 points in 36 minutes, while Hirt added 12 points. With the win, Denison improves to 12-3 overall and 4-2 in the NCAC, while the Ladies fall to 8-6 and 3-3 in league action. The Big Red returns to Livingston Gymnasium on Saturday when they host Allegheny at 1 p.m.