Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College women's basketball team held a nine-point fourth-quarter lead, but could not make it stand it up as the visiting Ladies of Kenyon College rallied to defeat the Yeowomen, 54-50, on Wednesday night at Philips Gym.
 
Lindsey Bernhardt hit three free throws to start the final frame to put the Yeowomen up 47-38 with 9:31 to play. Oberlin would then go scoreless for nearly six minutes as Kenyon chipped away at the lead. Bernhardt did cash in a deep 3-pointer with 3:19 left on the clock to make it a 50-45 Yeowomen advantage. The shot would be the only field goal of the period and also be the last points of the game for the Yeowomen.
 
Following a steal by Lane Davis, the Ladies would take their first lead of the game since the second quarter as Sidney Cera's jumper put them out in front, 51-50, with just 52 ticks left on the clock.
 
The Yeowomen trailed 52-50 with five seconds to go when Bernhardt was sent to the line with a chance to tie it.  Shooting 86.3-percent on the season, Bernhardt missed the first and intentionally missed the second, but the rebounded was secured by Kenyon to effectively end the game.
 
Bernhardt led all scorers with 20 points, while first-year center Olivia Canning chipped in with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting.
 
Ifeoma Archimalo led Kenyon with 16 points to accompany her nine rebounds, while Cera finished with 11 points to go along with six assists.
 
The Yeowomen dug themselves a large hole early on as Kenyon started the game on a 13-2 run, but Oberlin ended the quarter strong to cut the deficit to 19-12 after the initial 10 minutes of play.
 
Oberlin carried over the momentum to second, closing out the period with a 15-4 run to take a 27-25 cushion into the intermission.
 
A Caroline Hamilton triple-hit with 2:06 left in third gave the Yeowomen an eight-point lead at 42-34 and they would ultimately lead by six heading into the final stanza where it all went awry.  
 
Oberlin shot 43.6-percent, hitting 17 of 39 attempts. The Ladies hoisted 23 more shots then the Yeowomen, connecting on 22 of their 62 attempts for a 35.5-percent clip. The large discrepancy in shots was due in large part to the Yeowomen's 23 turnovers, while Kenyon was limited to just 10 miscues.
 
The Yeowomen dropped to 6-7 with the loss and remain winless in the North Coast Athletic Conference at 0-4. Kenyon moved to 8-5 overall and 2-2 in the league.
 
Oberlin will look to get back on track when Hiram College comes to town on Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. matinee.