Denison's second-half surge powered the Big Red to a 60-51 victory over North Coast Athletic Conference rival Ohio Wesleyan on Tuesday night at Branch Rickey Arena in Delaware, Ohio. The win keeps DU unbeaten in the conference with a 2-0 record, while the Bishops (1-1 NCAC) suffered their first NCAC loss.

The two conference rivals were in a tightly contested battle in the first period. After trading off consecutive 7-0 runs, the Battling Bishops took a 24-21 lead into the half. Denison's run featured five points from sophomore Gabrielle Nottage and two more by senior Mary Margaret Habel.

Ohio Wesleyan led by as many as five at 30-25 early in the second half. Now down 32-28, senior Alyx Ingram buried a three to shrink the deficit to one. On DU's next possession, sophomore Jordan Holmes grabbed a short three-point attempt from Nottage and easily converted the second-chance opportunity. Sarah McQuade answered on the ensuing possession, but an old-fashioned three-point play by Holmes at 9:59 gave the Big Red a 36-34 lead.

With the score tied at 38-38, Denison broke the game open with a 13-1 run over the course of five minutes. Habel led the charge with seven points, while Holmes and Taylor Lindquist added four and two points, respectively. Lindquist's baseline jumper gave DU a double-digit lead, while Habel book-ended the run with successful jumpers. The senior also buried a three with five minutes to play.

Denison's run came to an end when Emily Julius' layup ended a 5:27 drought from the field. The Big Red led by as many as 13 inside the final two minutes before walking off the court in Delaware a nine-point winner.

After converting just 26 percent from the field in the first half, the Big Red shot almost 50 percent (14-for-30) in the second period. Denison also went 8-for-10 from the foul line over the course of 40 minutes. The Bishops went 22-for-59 (37.3 percent) from the field and made just one of six attempts (16.7 percent) from beyond the arc. OWU also successfully converted 6-of-9 (66.7 percent) tries at the free throw line. DU won the battle on the boards (45-38), while the Battling Bishops had a 30-20 edge in the paint. Denison also committed a season-low 13 turnovers and had a season-high 11 blocks.

Holmes, the reigning NCAC Player of the Week, finished two blocks shy of her third-career triple-double. The 6-foot-1 sophomore had 16 points, 17 rebounds and eight blocks. Holmes played in all 40 minutes of the game, converting 7-of-8 from the field and 2-of-3 from the charity stripe. Nottage chipped in 14 points on 6-of-11 from the floor, including a 2-for-4 performance from 3-point range. She also grabbed six rebounds, dished out two assists and had two steals. Habel added 13 points and six rebounds, while Kellie Arter posted nine points and three assists.

Kristin Henning led the Bishops (3-4) with 17 points to go along with eight rebounds, while LaNiece McRae grabbed nine rebounds. McQuade and Megan Kuether each logged three assists.

After a season-opening nine-game road trip, Denison (4-5) will play its first home game of the season on Saturday when they host NCAC foe Wittenberg. Tip-off from Livingston Gymnasium is scheduled for 2 p.m.