Oberlin, Ohio- Kicking off their postseason run, the Oberlin College women's basketball team hosted the Denison Big Red for the first round of the NCAC Tournament. The Yeowomen rallied from a first-half deficit to claim a 72-62 victory over Denison. Oberlin improves to 16-10 on the season ahead of their trip to the final site games.
 
Gina Lombard led the scoring drive tonight with 17 points in the win, with another four rebounds and two assists. Notching her tenth-career double-double, Camille Zinaich put up 12 points and 13 rebounds, while first-year Lily Najmulski scored a career-high 11 points in the game.
 
Bryana Woodard got Oberlin moving right out of the gates, but the Big Red came ready to play and matched the Yeowomen point-for-point. On consecutive possessions, Denison pushed the lead to as many four points before a Zinaich layup slowed the run. With just nine seconds left in the opening period, Denison pulled reclaimed the lead on a go-ahead shot from behind the arch.
 
Down 20-17, the Yeowomen made quick work of the deficit as Najmulski drilled a three-pointer on her first shot. Jaedyn O'Reilly and Alyson Jefferson got in the mix with jumpers of their own to give Oberlin its largest lead of the half. Denison pulled back in front of Oberlin minutes later, but a shot from Kendal McCall at the buzzer helped the Yeowomen cut the lead to 30-28 at the half.
 
The Yeowomen came out of the locker room ready to roll and tied the game on a Woodard layup. After each team put up another ten points, Najmulski and Lombard caught on fire, each knocking down shots from behind the arch. The duo added another pair of threes in the quarter's final minute before Ziniach capped the period on a jumper in the paint. Oberlin outscored the Big Red 24-18 in the third, while hitting 53% from the field.
 
The momentum for Oberlin continued with back-to-back three-pointers from Najmulski and Lombard in the opening minute. While keeping the Big Red off the scoreboard, Ziniach extended to lead to 12 with a jumper at the 7:13 mark. Denison finally got on the board in the following possession, but the Big Red couldn't contain Ziniach who scored on the next two possessions.
 
With the Crimson and Gold up 66-52, Denison found some momentum and tallied nine unanswered points. Angela Kumler's free throw ended the home team's drought, but the Big Red continued to roll and cut the Yeowomen's lead to six. Oberlin withstood the final minute of fouls from the Big Red and keep off Denison to claim victory in 72-62 fashion.

The Crimson and Gold head to the NCAC final site in Greencastle, Indiana to play Wittenberg in the semifinal matchup. The Yeowomen and the Tigers are set for a Friday, February 24. When times and live coverage options are announced, they will be posted to the Oberlin Athletics main page.
 
Fans can watch all the home matches live online. Home contests can be accessed on a TV through the official Oberlin College Sports Network app on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.