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GRANVILLE, Ohio (Nov. 16) – Lengthy runs in both the first and second quarters quickly enabled Denison University to run away from Adrian College in an eventual 79-34 win on day one of the Sara Lee Classic at Livingston Gymnasium.

Denison (2-1) opened with a 9-0 run behind a total team effort, which was a theme for the Big Red in the game. Abby Cooch secured a rebound just over 90 seconds into the game and went the length of the floor for a fastbreak layup turned old-fashion three-point play. Layups by Violet Mitchell and Bryana Woodard capped the opening stretch before Adrian's Kylie Skidmore broke the scoring drought at the free throw line at the 4:17 mark.

In the second, Denison's lead grew to 20 with an early 11-0 run. Cooch found Brooke Toigo beyond the arc for a 3-pointer, and Maddie Goodman swatted aside Aubrie Ickes' jumper in the paint before making two free throws at the other end. Quick turnovers led to multiple transition scores for Denison. Abigail Westmeyer's layup followed an Adrian turnover. Next, Cooch stole the ball from Morgan Babb before finding Toigo again, this time on the fastbreak runout. Toigo's layup made it 24-6 at the 8:14 mark. Adrian did not have a second-quarter field goal until Babb's triple went down at 6:42.

Cooch's facilitating kept Denison's efficiency numbers high late in the second quarter. The sophomore guard found Izzy Arguelles open for a 3-pointer, then Goodman was the beneficiary of Cooch's assist on the next possession. Goodman's triple gave Denison a 42-17 lead at halftime.

Mitchell took over Saturday's rout early in the third quarter, hitting two jumpers in a span of three possessions to extend Denison's lead to 29 both times. Next, the sophomore guard poked the ball away from Emma McElroy, then found Westmeyer for a fastbreak layup that pushed the Big Red's lead north of 30 for good. Arguelles' second 3-pointer of the game pushed Denison's lead to 62-24 with 1:38 on the third-quarter clock, and 38 was again the Big Red's cushion at the end of the period.

Arguelles hit a third triple in the fourth quarter, while two possessions later, Jess Zittel knocked down a triple to get Denison above 70 points for the game. In fact, 12 of Denison's final 14 points came from beyond the arc, and four different Big Red players hit a three. Wood joined the scoring column via a 3-pointer with 4:29 left in the game, and Katie Houpt did likewise with 2:04 to go.

Twelve Denison players found the scoring column. Arguelles and Woodard scored 11 apiece and combined to shoot 9-of-12 from the floor. Mitchell ended the night with nine points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Cooch led all players with six assists, and backed that up with six points and six rebounds. Westmeyer's eight rebounds were the game-high. Elliana Baker and Toigo had two blocks each.

Denison shot 50 percent (30-of-60), marking the second time on the young season the Big Red have made at least half of their field goals. Denison had 12 3-pointers, won the rebounding battle 48-31, and had 40 points from the bench.

Skidmore was Adrian's leader at 11 points and seven rebounds. The Bulldogs struggled shooting, making just 20.4 percent (11-of-54) of field goals on the night. Adrian was just 2-of-17 from beyond the arc.

Ferrum College beat La Roche University 63-56 in Saturday's second game. Aisha Martin scored a game-high 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting, which included a 5-of-10 showing from beyond the arc.

Up Next: Denison plays Ferrum in the championship game of the Sara Lee Classic at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 17. Adrian and La Roche play in the consolation game at 1 p.m.