BLUFFTON, Ohio (December 30, 2022) – Mikaila Carpenter matched her career-high with 20 points while Abigail Westmeyer recorded her first-career double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Denison University women's basketball team to a wire-to-wire 54-43 victory over tournament host Bluffton University during day two of the McDonald's of Bluffton Holiday Tournament on Friday afternoon.

In addition to setting a new career-high in both points and rebounds, Westmeyer finished with six assists and was one of six Big Red players with at least five boards. Carpenter, meanwhile, was a super-efficient 9-for-11 from the field.

Denison (5-6 overall) got off to a great start with a 3-pointer by Maddie Goodman on the first possession of the game, followed by a midrange jumper by Gabby Elliott on a second-chance opportunity on the next Big Red possession.

Meanwhile, the Denison defense limited Bluffton (7-4) to a 0-for-11 start from the field while a 3-pointer by Elliott on a nice pass from the post by Carpenter made it a 9-0 start to the game for the Big Red five and a half minutes in.

A trio of 3-pointers in the final four minutes of the first half for the Beavers, their only three field goals of the opening period, helped Bluffton get into double digits in the first quarter, but Denison maintained the lead at 15-11 after the first 10 minutes thanks to three straight layups by Carpenter.

Denison started the second quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers by Brooke Toigo and Westmeyer to take a 10-point lead for the first time in the game at 21-11, but then a Bluffton 3-pointer made it only a one-score game at 23-20 halfway through the period.

From there, the Big Red closed out the first half on an 8-0 run starting a nice jump shot in transition by Westmeyer on the long pass by Hannah Wynn. The run also saw Carpenter drain a midrange jumper and then score her sixth field goal of the first half (13 points) on a layup before Westmeyer capped it off with a layup in the final minute of the first half to make it 31-20 Big Red at the intermission.

Twice in the third quarter the Beavers got to within four points of the Big Red as in the first four minutes of the period, Bluffton connected on a 3-pointer on three straight possessions to draw to within four at 36-32. Once again, however, Carpenter asserted herself with back-to-back layups by give the Big Red some breathing room, and then after Bluffton again got to within four at 41-37 with under three minutes remaining in the third quarter, Westmeyer nailed a jumper from the baseline for the last points of the third quarter with two minutes remaining in the period.

After making her presence felt with seven points, eight rebounds and four assists in the first half alone, Westmeyer continued to roll and helped put the game away by starting off the fourth quarter with an and-one. She then scored back-to-back layups to cap off a 9-0 start to the final period for Denison and put the Big Red ahead by 15 points (52-37) with 6:17 remaining.

Denison will return to the court after the New Year for the start of North Coast Athletic Conference action. The Big Red will travel to Springfield, Ohio, to battle Wittenberg University starting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 4.