Denison's 28-3 run to open the second half powered the Big Red to a 76-66 come-from-behind victory over Allegheny on Senior Day in Granville. With the win, DU secured a home quarterfinal game in next week's North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament.

The two teams battled closely until a 14-4 run by the Gators over five minutes turned a one-possession lead into a 12-point advantage with 5:25 to play. Denison got within eight, but back-to-back threes from Emma Pellicano and Meaghan Wilby put Allegheny ahead 39-25 with 1:15 on the clock. The visiting team entered the break with a 41-29 lead.

Down by a dozen, head coach Sara Lee knew that her team needed to continue to play strong defense and attempt high-percentage shots if they were going to climb back into the game. The speech from the veteran head coach seemed to do the trick as the Big Red opened the second period with 16-unanswered points over the first eight and a half minutes to gain a 45-41 edge. That offensive burst put Denison in front for the first time since the early stages of the first half.

The Gators broke up the string of consecutive points with a Wilby triple, but the DU offense continued to produce by scoring the next 12 points of the game to cap off a 28-3 run over the first 12:46 of the period. Junior Kellie Arter led the run with eight points, including a pair of threes, while senior Mary Margaret Habel and sophomore Jordan Holmes each added six tallies. Taylor Lindquist provided four points, while Alyx Ingram and Gabrielle Nottage chipped in two each from the foul line.

The Big Red maintained a double-digit lead until the three-minute mark when a Jessica Mrdjenovich trey trimmed the deficit to seven at 66-59. Holmes answered on the ensuing possession with a pair from the charity stripe, but three successful free throws from Mrdjenovich with 1:52 to play made it a two-possession game.

Holding onto a six-point lead, the Big Red went 8-for-12 from the foul line over the final 61 seconds to secure the 10-point victory on Senior Day. Holmes went 3-for-4 at the stripe down the stretch, while Lindquist capped off the game with a pair with six seconds to play.

Denison converted 44 percent (27-for-61) from the field, and scored half of their 76 points in the paint. The Big Red also turned 12 offensive rebounds into 17 points. DU won the battle on the boards 50-35. Despite a 52 percent clip (17-for-33) in the first half, the Gators shot just 37 percent (26-for-71) for the game. Allegheny was 7-for-8 from three in the first 20 minutes, but went just 4-for-12 in the second period.

Holmes led all players with 18 points, 20 rebounds and six assists. She also collected three blocks and two assists. Arter added 17 points after going 7-for-11 from the field and 3-for-4 from long range, while Habel chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes. The other senior, Ingram, provided 11 points and three assists in 26 minutes off the bench.

Wilby paced Allegheny with 16 points in 18 minutes off the bench. Mrdjenovich led the Allegheny starters with 11 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists. Kendall Hoffman, Marina Scarantino and Emma Pellicano all finished with 10 points. Pellicano also had three steals and finished one point shy of 1,000 for her career. Scarantino dished out five assists, while Hoffman grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

Both teams moved to 14-11 overall. The Big Red improved to 10-6 in the NCAC, while the Gators fell to 7-9 in the conference. Denison will host an NCAC Tournament quarterfinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at Livingston Gymnasium in Granville. DU's opponent and the tip-off time are TBD.

*Denison seniors Mary Margaret Habel and Alyx Ingram were honored prior to Saturday's win over Allegheny.