GRANVILLE, Ohio—Alison Schafer scored a career-high 40 points to lead Denison to a 70-65 victory over Wittenberg in the 2019-20 North Coast Athletic Conference opener at Livingston Gymnasium.

Schafer was 13-of-20 from the field and 6-of-11 from 3-point range. She also knocked down 8-of-10 at the free-throw line to finish with the second-most points in a game in Denison women's basketball history.  The single-game record is 41 set by Christi Clay on Feb. 26, 1994, also coming against the Wittenberg Tigers. Her six 3-pointers also tied the Denison single-game record which has been equaled 10 times in program history.

Denison led 38-31 at halftime as Schafer accounted for 23 of the Big Red's 38 points. She got off to a red-hot start and it continued throughout the afternoon.  Schafer was 8-of-11 in the first half while also leading DU with four rebounds.

In the third quarter, Wittenberg made a push, outscoring Denison 14-11 but Schafer remained on fire, scoring nine of Denson's 11 in the third quarter. 

It was a more balanced attack for the Big Red in the fourth quarter as six players combined for the team's 21 points.  Schafer still led the way with eight points in the final period but a Lily Morris 3-pointer with 1:42 remaining moved Denison's lead from three to six and the Big Red connected on three of four free throws in the final minute to put the game away.

Of games played through Nov. 26, Schafer's 40-point game is the fourth-most points scored by an individual in Division III women's basketball, this season.

Following Schafer in scoring was Morris with 10 points and Lauren Hofer with six points and four assists.  As a team, DU shot 47 percent from the field and were 8-for-17 from beyond the arc.  Wittenberg won the rebounding battle 38-26 but committed 18 turnovers compared to 11 for the Big Red.

Denison improves to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in the NCAC while the Tigers drop to 3-3 and 0-1 in the conference.  DU returns to the court on Wednesday, Dec. 4 when they travel to Hiram for a 6 p.m. start.