GRANVILLE, Ohio (December 7, 2022) – Playing in its final game before the holiday break, the Denison University women's basketball dropped a 74-49 decision at home in nonconference action against Case Western Reserve University on Wednesday night.

It was a very competitive first half that saw a layup by Mikaila Carpenter tie the game up at 25-25 with two and a half minutes left until halftime, but Case answered with its third 3-pointer of the second quarter and then finished off the opening 20 minutes with a steal and a layup to take a five-point lead (33-28) into the break.

After both teams shot over 40 percent from the field in an opening quarter that ended with the score all knotted up at 16-16, Case continued to shoot right at 40 percent (6-for-15) in the second quarter while Denison dipped to 27 percent shooting (5-for-18) and a 0-for-4 mark from three in the second quarter.

The third quarter is then where Case asserted itself and took control of the game for good as the Spartans opened the second half by scoring on each of their first six possessions, four of which resulted in a 3-pointer, to open up their lead to 49-29 three minutes into the third quarter.

The Spartans continued their torrid start to the second half with their fifth 3-pointer of the period to expand their lead to 54-30 only halfway through the quarter.

The Big Red, meanwhile, were 0-for-5 from the field to start the third quarter and had more turnovers (6) halfway through the period than they did in the entire first half (4), resulting in a 9-0 advantage in points off turnovers for Case to that point in the period.

In all, Case never trailed in the game, outscored Denison 28-10 in the third quarter, shot over 40 percent from the field in each of the first three quarters, and finished with 11 made 3-pointers.

The Big Red were led by Ava Warcaba with 10 points while Carpenter added nine, Abigail Westmeyer and Brooke Toigo both had eight, and Molly Fisher had a season-high six points.
 
Denison drops to below .500 on the season at 4-5 heading into the holiday break while Case (8-2 overall) improves upon its best start in the last six seasons.

After the break, Denison will return to action at the Bluffton University Holiday Tournament to face off against Ohio Northern University at 5 p.m. on Thursday, December 29.