After dropping a pair of weekend games, the Kenyon women’s basketball team got back in the win column on Tuesday. Over the weekend, the Owls fell to Case Western Reserve University and DePauw University 77-53 and 68-46, respectively, before beating non-conference foe Penn State Shenango (Pa.) 68-59 on Tuesday.

On Friday night, Kenyon squared off against Case Western. Throughout the first two quarters, the two teams went toe-to-toe. Though the Spartans grew their advantage to nine points in the second quarter, the Owls were able to shrink the deficit to trail 34-29 at the half, thanks in large part to a pair of triples from Alyssa Gest ’26, who led the team with 16 points. After the break, Case Western seized the momentum and grew its lead to double digits. The fourth quarter brought more of the same, as a 71% field goal percentage (10-for-14) helped lift the Spartans to victory.

Kenyon opened their NCAC schedule with a home game against DePauw on Sunday. The Tigers, who were a perfect 15-0 in conference play last season, flexed their offensive muscles early. Though Kenyon opened the scoring with a layup from Claudia Cooke ’24, DePauw went on an 18-0 run and led 22-7 at the end of the quarter. Facing a large deficit, the Owls kept pace with the Tigers, outscoring them 34-29 in the middle two frames. However, DePauw bookended the game with a scorching final quarter to win 68-46.

For Anissa Hardy ’26, Kenyon’s defeats over the weekend helped the team to come out with intensity on Tuesday against Shenango. “We just had a lot of energy coming into the game and we were ready to go out and play our hardest without being nervous at all,” she wrote in an email to the Collegian.

The Owls started their contest against the Lions hot, scoring the game’s first five points. After Shenango got back within one, Kenyon went on a 14-2 run for the rest of the quarter to lead 19-6 after 10 minutes. Both teams found a higher offensive gear in the second quarter, as strong 3-point shooting from the Lions made it a 40-30 Owls lead. The second half was more of the same for both teams, with Kenyon outscoring Shenango in the third quarter to lead by 16 heading into the game’s final 10 minutes. Though the Lions faced a double-digit deficit, they did not go away quietly, inching within seven points with just over a minute to play. Hardy put Shenango away with a lay-up to give Kenyon the win. Hardy, who led the team with 13 rebounds, believes that the win shows improvement for the team but knows that there is still room to grow. “I think we did a great job executing a lot of our plays, but we have to work on our communication on defense a little bit more,” she said. “We also need to work on keeping the same energy throughout the game.”

With their record sitting at 2-6 (0-1 NCAC), the Owls will host non-conference Penn State Behrend (Pa.) on Saturday.