ALFRED, N.Y. (November 19, 2023) – The Denison University women's basketball team scored 26 points in the fourth quarter and earned a 69-52 victory at Alfred University to pick up its third win in its first four games of the 2023-24 season.

Trailing 45-43 entering the fourth quarter, a 3-pointer by Brooke Toigo gave Denison a 47-45 lead just over a minute into the final period.

Then after two free throws by Morgan Kress followed a block by Abigail Westmeyer and a defensive rebound by Ada Taute, a steal and an assist by Taute led to a layup by Maddie Goodman to make it 51-45 Big Red with seven and a half minutes to go.

It was an 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter for Denison, and then a 9-0 run starting with a putback layup and a 3-pointer by Goodman followed by two-point jumpers by Violet Mitchell and Toigo made it a 12-point lead (60-48) in the final two and a half minutes of the game.

In all, Denison outscored Alfred 17-3 in the first seven and a half minutes of the fourth quarter to pull away.

Toigo ultimately led the Big Red with a career-high 17 points on 4-for-8 shooting from 3-point range while Mitchell added 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field and perfect 5-for-5 shooting from the free throw line.

Goodman and Abby Cooch both added 10 points while Ava Warcaba chipped in with seven points.

One of the biggest factors leading to victory for the Big Red was free throw shooting as Denison was 18-for-23 from the line. In addition, despite only nine turnovers by the Saxons, the Big Red outscored the opposition 18-4 in points off turnovers and led 21-5 in second chance points after collecting 19 offensive rebounds.

It was the first ever meeting between Denison and Alfred, but it was also a tough shooting start for the Big Red, who missed each of their first eight shots of the game and started 1-for-14 from the field.

However, despite shooting just 4-for-21 (19 percent) in the first quarter, Denison trailed by just one point (13-12) after an and-one for Mitchell in the final 30 seconds of the opening period. The shooting woes continued in the second quarter as Denison was just 6-for-33 (18.2 percent) at the break, but was able to stay within striking distance (28-24) after making 11 of 13 attempts from the free throw line.

In the second half, however, Denison made eight field goals and three 3-pointers in both the third and fourth quarters and shot 7-for-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. The defense also did the job as Alred was just 1-for-15 overall and was 0-for-7 from three in the final period.

In its final game before Thanksgiving Break, Denison will host its 2023-24 home opener against Wilmington College at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, November 21.