WILMINGTON, Ohio – Thanks to 17 points from junior Zyah Beal, Denison women's basketball opened the Damon's/Hampton Inn Tip-Off Tournament with a 71-47 victory over Anderson University on Friday evening at the Fred Raizk Arena in Wilmington, Ohio. The win sends the Big Red to the championship game on Saturday at 3 p.m. against tournament host Wilmington College.

Denison took control of the night with 38 points in the paint while forcing 26 Anderson turnovers. Also receiving 29 points from their bench, the Big Red opened the game with a 21-11 lead in the first quarter, highlighted by nine points and three steals from Beal. DU ended the quarter on a 13-2 scoring run that saw the likes of Beal, Lauren Hofer, Alison Schafer, and Shonta Lockett enter the scoring column.

In the second frame, the Ravens trimmed their deficit to 23-30 with 3:51 remaining in the half, but three Anderson turnovers turned into buckets for Beal, Lockett, and Schafer as Denison entered the break with a 36-23 advantage.

In the second half, the Big Red ended the third quarter on a 22-10 scoring run thanks to nine combined points off the bench from Lauren Turner and Lauren Longbrake, while Hofer ended the frame with a three-pointer to extend the DU lead to 60-38.

The Big Red forced six more Anderson turnovers in the fourth as they held off the Ravens for their second win of the season.

Beal led all scorers with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting while recording four steals and three rebounds. Hofer chipped in 11 points on 5-of-9 from the floor while Schafer added eight points to her four steals and four assists. Longbrake and Lily Morris each posted eight points off the bench and Turner followed with seven.

Hannah Ault tallied a team-best 12 points for Anderson and Lexi Dellinger followed with 11 points on 3-of-4 from the perimeter.

Saturday's contest with the Quakers will be their first since 2016 when the Big Red opened the season with a 59-56 loss at Wilmington.