New Concord, OH – The Oberlin College women's basketball team used a big second half en route to knocking off the Muskies of Muskingum University, 61-57, on Saturday afternoon at the Anne C. Steele Center.
 
Oberlin used a balanced scoring attack as four players finished in double figures. Junior Alex Stipano led the way with 13 points, while Abby Andrews and Ally Driscoll each finished with 12. Andrews also added four blocks, four steals, and five rebounds to her stat line. Rounding out the double-digit point producers was senior guard Tyler Parlor as she chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds.
 
The Yeowomen got off to a slow start on the offensive end as the Muskies led 18-11 after the first period and then started the second quarter on a 7-0 spurt to increase their advantage out to 14 at 25-11.
 
Oberlin would trail by as many as 15 in the opening half, but did shrink the gap down to seven on three straight points from Andrews in the closing minute.  Nonetheless, OC ultimately settled for a 34-24 shortcoming at the break.
 
After getting some halftime instructions from Head Coach Kerry Jenkins in the locker room, the Yeowomen reemerged with a renewed sense of purpose. The Yeowomen started the third quarter with an 11-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 35-34, with 6:44 left in the quarter. The spurt featured a 3-ball from Driscoll and seven points from Stipano, including one of her three triple-hits in the game.
 
The Muskies would slow down Oberlin for a bit to regain a six-point lead on two separate occasions, but Oberlin would close the quarter strong to even the count at 47-all heading into the final frame.
 
A traditional 3-point play by Driscoll gave Oberlin a 54-49 lead with 3:36 left to play, but two minutes later Olivia Besancon answered with a 3-point play of her own to make it 57-54 Yeowomen advantage.
 
With the game still very much in the balance, Oberlin was able to hang on for the win by making four free throws, but more importantly playing better defense.
 
After shooting 7-of-27 (25.9%) in the first half, the Yeowomen checked in at 56 percent over the final 30 minutes – hitting on 14-of-25 shots.
 
The Muskies, who fell to 0-2 on the year, struggled from the floor thanks in large part to Oberlin's length and overall defensive effort as they finished just 18-of-66 for a 27.3 percent success rate. However, Muskingum was able to stay in the game by cashing in 15-of-16 charity tosses.
 
Oberlin (1-1) has a busy week ahead as it hosts Hiram College on Tuesday night before traveling to nationally ranked Trine on Wednesday. The week will conclude with a Sunday afternoon tilt at home against Baldwin Wallace.