Women's Basketball | 11/5/2025 2:45:00 PM

Granville, Ohio - The Big Red women's basketball team looks to continue building momentum this season after a competitive 2024–25 campaign that saw the team finish above .500 and push several NCAC contenders to the wire. With a strong mix of returning veterans and emerging underclassmen, Denison is aiming to climb higher in the conference standings and make noise in postseason play. The Big were ranked second in the preseason poll with three first place votes and 53 total points, just behind DePauw who has five first place votes and 58 total points.

2024-25 Season Recap

The Big Red wrapped up the year with a 15-11 overall record and 8-6 in NCAC play, showing balanced production on both ends of the floor. Denison won the inaugural Sara Lee Classic, defeating Ferrum in the championship game 85-53. The Big Red reached the NCAC Tournament once again, but fell short to Hiram in a tight 61-56 loss. Denison averaged 69.5 points per game while allowing just 61.6 points per contest, good for one of the top scoring margins in the conference. Rising junior Abby Cooch and senior Abigail Westmeyer were named to all-conference teams, as Cooch was honored with First Team and Westmeyer with Third.

Team Highlights:

• The Denison offense ranked top three in the conference in points, (69.5) and field goal percentage (42.2). The team also shot 31.8% from three, good for fourth in the conference.
• This is the first time the Big Red have had back-to-back winning seasons since the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. Over the past two seasons, Denison has compiled a record of 35-18.
• Won six of their final nine NCAC matchups to secure a winning conference record.
• Averaged 13.5 assists and 9.3 steals per game.
• Junior Abby Cooch received First Team All-NCAC honors for the second consecutive year. She ranked in the top 10 in the conference in points (12.7), field goals made (114),  assists, (4.9) and rebounds (6.8).

2025-26 NCAC Preseason Poll
 

2025-26 North Coast Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Coaches' Poll
Place	Institution (1st Place Votes)	Total Points
1	DePauw (5)	58
2	Denison (3)	53
3	John Carroll	52
4	Wittenberg	38
5	Ohio Wesleyan	35
6	Oberlin	27
7	Wooster	14
8	Kenyon	11

Key Players Breakdown:

Abby Cooch: Led the team in points (12.7), rebounds (6.8), and assists (4.9). The rising junior guard has been named First Team All-NCAC in her first two seasons as a Big Red, and also earned Newcomer of the Year her first year on the squad. She had four double-doubles on the year and posted double-digit point performances 17 times.

Violet Mitchell: The rising junior was one of the three Big Red to average double-digits, scoring 10.7 points per game. Mitchell started in all 25 games that she played, and had a career-high 20 points in their matchup against Hiram last season (1/18). She will be a key piece in keeping the offense humming in the backcourt.

Adelyn Moore: The rising junior guard was a solid contributor for the Big Red last season averaging 8.3 points per game, ranking fourth on the team in scoring and third in steals. She scored a career-high 23 points against Oberlin (1/15) and had a double-double against Bowdoin (12/29) where she had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Brooke Toigo: The sharpshooter of the Big Red, Toigo has a career three-point percentage of 33.8% and has netted 72 in her career. She averaged 5.5 points per game, and made a three in all but four games.

Ada Taute: Taute returns for her junior season after suffering a season-ending injury in the Big Red's first game last season. In the 2023-24 season, Taute was named Third Team All-NCAC and NCAC All-Tournament Team after leading the team in scoring (12.6) and rebounds (5.5). Taute had a career-high 30 points in Denison's last game of the season to cap off her rookie year. She will look to bounce back in a big way for the Big Red.

Maeve Perry, Anelly Mad-toingué, and Jess Zittel all saw valuable time last season to bring in experience for this junior and senior heavy squad.

Fresh Group: The Big Red brought in three first-years to round out the group, and have eight juniors and three seniors to guide the young group this season. The current junior class has a combined 117 starts over their three seasons.

A Look at the Schedule

The Big Red kick off their season with four-straight home games, with their season opener being on Saturday, November 8 against Muskingum at 3 pm, then host the Sara Lee Classic with three opponents traveling to Granville. Denison will play Transylvania on Saturday, November 15 at 5 pm and come back the next day to face off against Franklin College at 3 pm. They will then hit the road for four games, capped off with their first conference matchup against DePauw in Greencastle, Ind. on Wednesday, December 3 at 7 pm. Denison's first home conference game will come in the new year, as the Big Red welcome Kenyon on Saturday, January 3 at 1 pm. The rest of the way will be conference matchups, with some key opponents being at new NCAC institution John Carroll on Saturday, January 17, and at home against DePauw on Wednesday, February 4 at 7:30 pm. The Big Red close out the season against Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday, February 21 at 1 pm for Senior Day. The NCAC Tournament will be between February 24-28, with times to be determined.

2025-2026 Schedule

Date	Location	Opponent	Time
11/8/25	Granville, Ohio	Muskingum	3:00 PM
11/12/25	Granville, Ohio	Wilmington	7:00 PM
11/15/25	Granville, Ohio	Transylvania (Sara Lee Classic)	5:00 PM
11/16/25	Granville, Ohio	Franklin (Sara Lee Classic)	3:00 PM
11/19/25	Steubenville, Ohio	Franciscan	5:30 PM
11/22/25	Ada, Ohio	Ohio Northern	2:00 PM
11/25/25	Olivet, Mich.	Olivet	6:30 PM
12/3/25	Greencastle, Ind.	DePauw	7:00 PM
12/6/25	Granville, Ohio	Case Western Reserve	1:00 PM
12/19/25	Westerville, Ohio	Otterbein	6:00 PM
12/29/25	Salem, Va.	Albright (Susan Dunangan HC)	7:00 PM
12/30/25	Salem, Va.	TBD (Susan Dunangan HC)	5/7:00 PM
1/3/26	Granville, Ohio	Kenyon	1:00 PM
1/10/26	Wooster, Ohio	Wooster	1:00 PM
1/14/26	Granville, Ohio	Oberlin	7:00 PM
1/17/26	University Heights, Ohio	John Carroll	1:00 PM
1/21/26	Granville, Ohio	Wittenberg	5:30 PM
1/24/26	Delaware, Ohio	Ohio Wesleyan	1:00 PM
1/31/26	Gambier, Ohio	Kenyon	3:00 PM
2/4/26	Granville, Ohio	DePauw	7:30 PM
2/7/26	Granville, Ohio	Wooster	2:00 PM
2/11/26	Oberlin, Ohio	Oberlin	6:00 PM
2/14/26	Granville, Ohio	John Carroll	1:00 PM
2/18/26	Springfield, Ohio	Wittenberg	7:00 PM
2/21/26	Granville, Ohio	Ohio Wesleyan	1:00 PM