Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College women's basketball team opened the 2018-19 season with a commanding 59-45 wire-to-wire win over the Alma College Scots on Saturday afternoon at Philips Gym.
 
The trio of Alex Stipano, Olivia Canning and Cheyenne Arthur did the bulk of the work, combining to score 52 of the team's 59 points. Stipano led the charge with 18 points and tied Tyler Collins for a team-high with four assists. Canning started the year by notching her 16^th career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Arthur also poured in a career-high 17 points.
 
Oberlin jumped out to 7-0 lead with 5:57 left in the opening quarter but then went cold from there, holding just a 9-7 lead after one period. The dry spell extended well into the second quarter until Stipano cashed in a 3-pointer at the 6:58 mark to break what had been a 9-9 tie.
 
The shooting struggles on both sides continued for the remainder of the first half as the two foes combined to go 14-of-56 (25%) in the first 20 minutes of action with the Yeowomen carrying an 18-15 lead into the intermission.
 
The Yeowomen would create some separation in the third quarter as a Maggie Gross layup gave them their first double-digit lead at 29-19 with 4:03 left to play in the frame. A personal 5-0 run by Arthur that featured one her team-high three triple-hits and a pair of charity tosses ballooned the advantage out to 15 but the Scots charged back to cut the deficit down to just seven, 36-29, heading into the fourth quarter.
 
However, Oberlin responded back by starting the final frame with a 12-0 run that included threes from Stipano and Arthur to increase the lead out to 48-29 and effectively put the game out of reach for the Scots.
 
Emily Eldridge led all scorers with 19 points for the Scots who shot just 28.8 percent (17-of-59) as a team.
 
Oberlin, which won the rebounding battle 46-36, shot 35.6 percent (21-of-59) from the floor and cashed in 12 of 14 free throws for an 85.7 percent success rate.
 
Oberlin is back in action on Friday night as it will take on Capital University on the campus of John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio. Tip-time is set for 6 p.m.