SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (January 4, 2023) – The first North Coast Athletic Conference game for the Denison University women's basketball team under the direction of new Head Coach Maureen Hirt saw the Big Red come up just short, 62-55, at Wittenberg University on Wednesday night.

Despite shooting 52.9 percent from the field in the first half, Denison trailed 29-22 after committing 11 turnovers and being outrebounded 10-0 on the offensive glass.

The Big Red stayed with the Tigers in the second half, however, and started the third quarter with five straight points to cut the deficit to 29-27 after a 3-pointer by Gabby Elliott followed by a layup on an offensive rebound by Ava Warcaba.

Denson outscored Wittenberg 18-13 in the third quarter in all, and after getting to within one at 37-36 after another 3-pointer by Elliott with 2:18 to go in the period, a layup by Maddie Goodman made it 42-40 going into the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately, Denison came out with a turnover on its first three possessions of the fourth quarter before a layup by Elliott made it 46-42 with just under eight and half minutes remaining.

A pair of free throws by Goodman less than a minute later made it just a two-point game again at 46-44 before Hannah Wynn tied it on a layup with seven minutes remaining. That bucket, however, was answered by a three by the Tigers on their next possession.

An and-one by Elliott with 4:44 left made it a two-point game at 53-51, and then Mikaila Carpenter tied it up at 53-53 on the next Big Red possession before Wittenberg yet again answered with a jumper on its next possession.

A turnover by the Big Red led to another jumper for the Tigers to make it 57-53 with just over two and half minutes remaining, and then missed 3-pointers on the next three Denison possessions left the Big Red down by five (58-53) with under a minute to play.

Molly Fisher hit a pair of free throws to make it 58-55 with 52 seconds left, and then after a missed layup by the Tigers and a defensive rebound by Carpenter, Denison had a final chance to tie it or get to within one point with under 30 seconds remaining. However, a miss in the paint by the Big Red left Wittenberg with an opportunity to salt the game away at the free throw line, and they did just that with four straight makes in the final 16 seconds.

In the end, Elliott finished with 14 points while Carpenter and Abigail Westmeyer both had 10 points.

With the loss, Denison falls to 5-7 overall and 0-1 in the NCAC while Wittenberg earns its fifth win in a row to improve to 9-3 overall, 1-0 in the conference and 6-1 at home. The Big Red return to the court on Saturday, January 7, when they host Oberlin College for a 1 p.m. start.