GRANVILLE, Ohio – The 9th-ranked Ohio Wesleyan women's basketball team concluded the regular season at 10th/7th-ranked Denison on Saturday, a matchup with massive postseason implications as the winner would clinch the top seed in the NCAC Tournament. In a game of runs, the Battling Bishops tied the contest at 70 with 18 seconds left, but Denison answered with a layup just before the buzzer. The bucket with 0.5 seconds remaining proved to be the difference, as Ohio Wesleyan fell 72-70.
OWU ends the regular season with a 20-4 overall record, and an 11-3 mark in NCAC play, securing the two-seed in the conference tournament. Denison finishes the year with a 24-1 record, 13-1 in conference play, taking the top seed in the NCAC Tournament along with hosting rights for the semifinal and championship games.
The Red and Black struggled out of the gate, connecting on just two shots in the first five minutes and trailing 11-4. However, OWU found their footing in the back half of the quarter, stringing together an 8-4 run that cut the margin to three at 15-12.
Denison regained their composure to start the second, outscoring the Bishops 11-6 to extend their advantage to eight points. Just three minutes later,
Katie Neuhart worked her way to the rim for a layup that capped an 8-0 surge and brought the game to a 26-26 deadlock. Both sides exchanged buckets in the remaining minutes, and Denison led OWU 32-30 at the break.
Continuing their trend of fast starts, the Big Red outscored the Bishops 12-6 to open the second half and take a 44-36 lead. The Bishops answered right back with a 15-8 spurt over the next four minutes.
Carly Lehman (4 points) and
Kendall Dieringer (3 points) led the charge to bring OWU back within striking distance. Ohio Wesleyan headed into the final quarter trailing 55-51.
The fourth quarter brought the absolute best out of the top-ranked rivals. With 6:44 left,
Maddie Ebbert sank two free throws to put the Bishops ahead 57-55, marking their first lead since the second quarter. However, the lead was short-lived, as the Big Red roared back with an 11-2 surge. The burst put Denison back in control with a 66-59 advantage.
Macy Miller single-handedly ended the Big Red's run with six straight points. Her effort fueled an 8-0 Bishop rally, giving OWU a 67-66 edge in the final minute and a half. After a Big Red layup, Miller sank a free throw to knot things at 68 with 52 seconds on the clock. Denison's Violet Mitchell answered with a jumper, putting the Big Red ahead by two with just 29 seconds remaining. Following an OWU timeout, Miller found the bottom of the net once more to level the game at 70 and set up a dramatic finish. With just over four seconds left, Denison's inbound pass found Ada Taute, who muscled her way to the rim and converted, giving the Big Red a two-point advantage with 0.5 seconds on the clock. Ohio Wesleyan talked it over and drew up a play, but were unable to get a shot off, ultimately falling 72-70.
THE NUMBERS
The Bishops shot 42.3% from the field, going 30-for-71. The squad went 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.
Macy Miller led the charge with a career-high 29 points alongside 10 rebounds to mark her 17th double-double on the season. She added two blocks and two steals.
Katie Neuhart was the only other Bishop in double figures, scoring 10 points along with four rebounds and two assists.
Maddie Ebbert finished with eight points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
Nora Johns had seven points, five assists, two steals, and two rebounds.
Carly Lehman recorded six points and four assists.
Mia Guscoff tallied five points, two rebounds, and two steals.
Kendall Dieringer finished with three points, three assists, and two rebounds.
Chloe Ebeling contributed two points.
UP NEXT
The Battling Bishops look ahead to the NCAC Tournament Semifinals on Thursday, February 27th at 7 p.m. where they will face either three-seed John Carroll or six-seed Oberlin.
