Denison University women's basketball coach Sara Lee picked up her 400th collegiate victory in the Big Red's 68-65 come-from-behind win at Allegheny on Saturday afternoon in Meadville, Pa. Lee's milestone win comes five years and four days after she earned career win No. 300.

Lee entered the season ranked 32nd among active Division III head coaches in career wins. She becomes the fourth coach in the history of the North Coast Athletic Conference to win at least 400 games in her career, joining DePauw head coach Kris Hoffman, current Denison athletic director Nan Carney-DeBord (Ohio Wesleyan) and Pam Smith (Wittenberg).

The Big Red led almost the entire opening half, which included an 11-point advantage following a Gabrielle Nottage 3-pointer with 5:57 on the clock. Facing its first double-digit deficit of the game, Allegheny orchestrated an 11-2 run over the course of four minutes to pull within two.  However, a Nottage jumper sent DU into the locker room with a 35-31 lead. Sophomore Jordan Holmes secured her 10th double-double of the season after scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the opening half.

The Gators continued the ride the momentum of their late first-half run by scoring the first five points of the second period. An Emma Pellicano triple and a layup by Kendall Hoffman gave the home team its first lead since the 18 minute mark of the first half.

Trailing by one, Holmes drained a pair at the free throw line to put Denison back up by one.  Holmes' two foul shots sparked a spurt that saw the Big Red score 15 of the next 22 points to regain a seven-point advantage midway through the half. Not to be outdone, the Gators put together a 16-6 run that spanned over seven minutes and resulted in a three-point Allegheny lead with 2:29 on the clock. Pellicano capped off the burst with a bucket off a pass from Marina Scarantino.

On the ensuing possession, Holmes took a pass from Nottage and scored to get back within one. Following an offensive foul on Hoffman, senior Mary Margaret Habel knocked down a jumper to give DU a one-point edge with 1:28 to go. On Allegheny's next trip, Taylor Lindquist took the ball away from Hoffman to give Denison another possession. With 43 seconds left, junior Kellie Arter hit a jumper to extend the Big Red's lead to three. Jessica Mrdjenovich had a chance to tie the game with less than five seconds to play but couldn't convert. The Gators earned one more possession with 0.3 seconds to go, but Allegheny didn't have enough time to attempt a game-tying shot.

Holmes finished with a career-high 32 points after going 14-for-19 (.737) from the field in 40 minutes of play. The sophomore's 32 points tied the fourth-best performance in program historyand are the most by a DU player since Shaina Kaiser scored 32 in a win over Wooster on Jan. 2, 2009. Holmes also grabbed 21 rebounds and blocked seven shots.

Nottage finished the day with 11 points and four assists, while Akilah Fletcher provided eight points and five boards off the bench.

Pellicano led the Gators with 19 points to along with six rebounds and three blocks. Hoffman chipped in 17 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and three steals, while Mrdjenovich added 11 points. Scarantino led all players with six assists.

The Big Red converted 42 percent (30-for-71) from the floor, while Allegheny shot 43 percent (29-for-68). Denison outrebounded the Gators 47-38 and held advantagese in paint scoring (46-38), points off turnovers (20-12), second chance points (24-13) and points off the bench (14-8).

Denison improves to 8-8 overall and 4-3 in the NCAC, while Allegheny falls to 11-5 and 4-3 in league play. The Big Red returns home on Wednesday when they host Hiram College at 6 p.m.