TIFFIN, Ohio (November 8, 2023) – The Denison University women's basketball team got a combined 32 points from its freshman class and needed its upperclassmen to hold on late as the Big Red defeated Heidelberg University by a close score of 55-52 in its 2023-24 season opener on Wednesday night inside Seiberling Gymnasium.

It was an effective first two and a half quarters of the game for Denison (1-0 overall), which got its lead up to as many as 10 points halfway through the third quarter when a corner 3-pointer by junior Maddie Goodman was followed by an assist from Goodman to fellow-junior Abigail Westmeyer for a layup to make it 41-31.

However, Heidelberg (0-1) was able to close the third quarter strong, shooting 8-for-10 from the free throw line and ending the period with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to make it 46-40 heading into the final 10 minutes.

The momentum then continued for the home team with back-to-back layups to start the fourth quarter and to get to within two (46-44).

Heidelberg cut its deficit to one (50-49) with a layup by Cheyanne Bean in the final four minutes of the game, but Goodman answered on the next Big Red possession with a layup of her own to get it back to a three-point game with 3:30 left to play.

A tough floater by freshman Morgan Kress made it 54-50 with two minutes to go, but a midrange jumper for Heidelberg's Morgan Altenburger in the final minute cut the margin in half.

After an illegal screen on the Big Red, Heidelberg had a chance down by two with 33 seconds on the clock, and a loose ball after a near steal by Denison found itself in the hands of Bean for a midrange attempt, but a miss was followed by a contested rebound by Goodman with just 2.5 seconds left.

Two fouls later, freshman Abby Cooch went to the free throw line with 1.2 seconds on the clock. Her first attempt rattled home and the second one was no good, but there was simply not enough time on the clock for Heidelberg to try to do anything with it.

To get the game started, freshman Ada Taute scored each of Denison's first eight points before Kress added a layup with 13 seconds left in the first quarter to tie it at 10-10 after the opening period.

Both teams shot below 30 percent from the field in the first quarter while Heidelberg left six potential points at the free throw line (4-10).

After Heidelberg opened the second quarter with the first 3-pointer of the game, back-to-back layups by Kress gave Denison's its first lead of the game at 15-13, and then a 3-pointer by Taute followed by a steal by Kress and an assist to sophomore Jess Zittel on the layup made it 20-15 halfway through the quarter.

A right-handed, turnaround jumper in the paint by Taute gave Denison its largest lead of the first half (28-20) with 1:30 left in the second quarter.

Taute was 6-for-7 from the field with 13 points at the break, but Heidelberg was able to stay within five (28-23) at halftime after hitting three of its four 3-point attempts in the second quarter.

The Big Red, however, had seven offensive rebounds and five blocks at that point and led 22-10 on points in the paint and 12-0 on points of turnovers after 17 Heidelberg turnovers in the first 20 minutes of the game.

In the end, Taute (14 points) and Kress (13 points) both finished 6-for-10 in their collegiate debuts while Taute added six rebounds and three steals and Kress had five boards to go along with three blocks.

Goodman stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks while sophomore Brooke Toigo had six points, three assists and three steals.

Denison will get back to action this weekend at the Midway Classic hosted by the University of Chicago. The Big Red will play the University of Wisconsin-Superior at 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 11, before taking on the hosts and No. 22 nationally-ranked Maroons at 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 12.