GRANVILLE, Ohio (December 9, 2023) – The only lead change of the game came with 13 seconds left on the clock as Abigail Westmeyer sank a 3-pointer assisted on by Abby Cooch to propel the Denison University women's basketball team to a 52-51 home win in nonconference action over the Case Western Reserve University Spartans on Saturday inside Livingston Gymnasium.

The Big Red trailed by 18 points (35-17) at halftime before limiting the Spartans to just 16 points in the second half, including just four points in the fourth quarter.

After a 3-pointer by Cooch with time expiring at the end of the third quarter made it a nine-point game (47-38) going into the final 10 minutes, Denison opened up the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer by Violet Mitchell to make it just a six-point margin (47-41).

Four minutes later, a jumper by Bryana Woodard made it a four-point game (47-43), and then another 3-pointer by Cooch got Denison to within one possession (48-46) with five minutes to go.

Three minutes after that, Brooke Toigo tied it at 49-49 with a pair of free throws, the first tie since the score was 2-2.

Case answered with a two-point jumper on its next possession, and then after a missed 3-pointer by the Big Red on their next possession and then a turnover in the final minute, the Spartans had a chance to make it a two-score game in the final 30 seconds.

The corner 3-point try for Case, however, was off the mark, and Cooch secured the defensive rebound, allowing the Big Red to call a timeout with 22 seconds on the clock and set up a potential game-tying or go-ahead score.

Denison proceeded to go for the win and caught Case off guard as Westmeyer launched what was just her seventh 3-point attempt of the season and drilled it from the top of the key.

With time running out, a desperation shot from the midrange by Case with Cooch on the defense was off target as the Big Red completed the dominant second-half comeback to earn another big nonconference victory.

The Big Red defense limited Case to just one made field goal in the fourth quarter (1-14; 7.14 percent) while connecting on three 3-pointers themselves in the final period after starting the game 0-for-10 from three in the first half. In all, Denison was 5-for-9 from three in the second half and shot 52.94 percent (9-17) from the field in the third quarter to get back into the game. It was a drastic turnaround from last season as the Big Red were outscored 38-20 in the third quarter en route to a 25-point loss (74-49) at home.

This time around, Cooch led the Big Red in scoring with 12 points while Westmeyer and Toigo both finished with eight points and Morgan Kress finished with 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. For Cooch, it was her third game in a row reaching double-digits in scoring while knocking down at least two 3-pointers.

Denison moved to 6-2 overall on the season while Case fell to 5-4 and saw its three-game winning streak, which included a 72-29 romp over Kenyon College last Friday (Dec. 1), come to an end.

Denison will now have 10 days off before returning to action at Mount St. Joseph University starting at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 20.