Gambier, Ohio — The Oberlin College women's basketball team broke the school records for overall wins and North Coast Athletic Conference victories in a single season with a 47-39 come-from-behind victory over the Kenyon College Ladies at Tomsich Arena.
Oberlin improved to 16-6 overall, which breaks the 1998-99 team's mark of 15 wins. The Yeowomen also moved to 11-2 in conference, which bests the 2014-15 team that totaled 10 league wins.
The victory did not come easy for the Yeowomen as
Olivia Canning's layup with 6:57 left in the game gave Oberln its first lead since the 8:12 mark in the second quarter, 33-32. Oberlin extended its lead to six, 42-36, when
Ally Driscoll split a pair of free throw attempts with 3:10 left. The Ladies answered with a 3-pointer to make it a one-score game heading into the final minute, but the Yeowomen went a perfect 4-for-4 from the line down the stretch to seal the victory.
Canning led all scorers with 15 points to accompany her seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals. The junior shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the foul line. In addition, Driscoll contributed nine points and eight rebounds and
Abby Andrews led the team with nine boards.
In the first quarter of play, the Ladies jumped out to a an early 4-0 lead when Griffin Tullis knocked down a jumper at the 7:18 mark. The Yeowomen answered the early Kenyon lead with a 10-2 run capped off by a
Jasmine Sorrells' layup giving Oberlin a 10-6 lead with 44 ticks left in the quarter. On the next possession Kenyon's Ellie Schaub converted the traditional 3-point play make it 10-9 at the end of the first.
The second stanza was all Ladies as they opened the period with a 13-6 run, sparked by three consecutive three-pointers, giving them a 22-16 lead with 4:25 left in the half. Kenyon would extend its lead to seven, 25-18, before the intermission, but a pair of makes from the charity stripe by Canning with 32 ticks left cut the Ladies' lead to 25-20 at the break.
In a third quarter where both teams combined for 11 points, the Yeowomen tied the game up at 27-27 off a made free throw by
Cheyenne Arthur at the 2:25 mark. Keyon's Lane Davis would make a layup to close out the scoring in third, giving the Ladies a 29-27 edge heading into the final period.
Oberlin struggled shooting as a team, checking in at 30.6% (15-of-49), but made up for it at the foul line as they cashed in 16-of-20 (80.0%) freebies. Kenyon struggled as well from the floor as it shot a season-low 26.8% (15-of-56), but had most of its success from beyond the arc as it made 5-of-14 (35.7%).
The Yeowomen look to improve on their records as they welcome Wittenberg University to town on Saturday for Senior Day. The opening tip is slated for 1 p.m.
