OBERLIN, Ohio - Oberlin College women's basketball nearly snuck away with their biggest upset of the year, but the North Coast Athletic Conference-leading Denison Big Red outlasted the Yeowomen in a nail-biter, 45-44.

Minor mistakes cost the Yeowomen the potential upset as Oberlin led most of the way; over 22 minutes of action. Oberlin let losse 20 turnovers, which led to 17 Denison points.

The midweek matchup in Philips Gymnasium featured two of the NCAC's top bigs, with the Yeowomen's Olivia Canning sqauring off with the league's leading rebounder, Jordan Holmes. The two lengthly post players battled inside the paint all night.

Canning held firm against the quick and powerful Holmes, holding her to just 12 points and six offensive rebounds on her way to a game-high 14 points. Holmes also tallied game-best seven rejections.

Canning finished with just four points on 2-of-5 (40%) shooting, with six rebounds. She added four blocks in her 23 minutes of action.

The Yeowomen opened the game with a slim lead and extended the advantage to six, 10-4, with less than two minutes remaining in the open frame.

The Yeowomen took a four-point lead into the second quarter where Denison continually attempted to gain the upper hand. After exchanging baskets early on, Oberlin's advantage would be trimmed to one, 15-14, a little less than midway through the quarter. 

The Yeowomen would take their lead back up to five on three separate occasions before the halftime break with buckets from Tyler Parlor, Katie Lucaites, and Eleanor Van Buren, but the Big Red closed the half on a 4-0 spurt, as the Yeowomen held just a 23-22 margin at the intermission.

Oberlin remained ahead of the Big Red for two and a half quarters, but their advantage would dissipate with a 6-0 run from the Big Red capped off by a layup from Gabrille Nottage.

The third quarter closed with nine lead changes as the game entered the final regulation period with Denison on top by three, 38-35.

Oberlin brought the contest within one point twice during the early minutes of the fourth. After a good layup from Caroline Hamilton with 6:27 remaining, the Yeowomen went scoreless for the next 5:43. Denison sealed the game with a jumper from Nottage sending the Yeowomen behind by four with 27 seconds left.

The loss drops the Yeowomen to 10-11 overall and 4-8 against the NCAC. Denison moved to 18-3 ovetall and 11-1 in the NCAC.

Next up, the Yeowomen will travel to Allegheny College on Wednesday, February 10. Action is slated to begin at 6 p.m.