Last Saturday, the Kenyon women’s basketball team went on the road, falling to No. 11 John Carroll University in NCAC competition, 72-50. Then, on Wednesday, the Owls took on another ranked opponent, No. 10 Ohio Wesleyan University. Despite a late offensive push from Kenyon, the Battling Bishops managed a 61-59 buzzerbeater win. The heartbreaking loss saw the Owls drop to 6-16 overall (1-10 NCAC).
Kenyon opened the game with early perimeter scoring from Kiana Mollabashy ’28, who connected from three to put the Owls on the board. Despite Kenyon’s early shooting success, John Carroll pulled ahead with interior rebounding and scoring, closing the first quarter with a 26-14 lead. The Blue Streaks continued to build on their advantage early in the second quarter, scoring again inside before Mollabashy responded with a jumpshot of her own. Kenyon held a short stretch of offensive success when Alyssa Gest ’26 and Lauren Muñoz ’29 each hit from 3-point range, but John Carroll continued to find second-chance opportunities off of offensive rebounds. By the half, the Blue Streaks had extended the lead to 43-26.
John Carroll opened the third quarter with another scoring run, increasing the margin through a series of finishes in the paint and additional offensive rebounds. Kenyon answered with baskets from Abby Burdette ’29 and Mollabashy, but the gap reached 65-36 heading into the fourth quarter. In the final period, Kenyon received productive minutes from Muñoz, who hit a three and converted two free throws, while Antonia Marzini ’29 was a force inside. The Blue Streaks maintained control through the closing minutes, securing the 72-50 win.
Kenyon finished shooting 20-of-52 from the field and 5-of-14 from deep. The largest statistical difference between the two squads came on the glass, where the Blue Streaks held a 45-25 rebounding advantage, resulting in more shots from John Carroll. Mollabashy led Kenyon with 15 points, shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range, while adding three rebounds and a steal. Marzini matched her with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, along with two rebounds and an assist. Muñoz finished with seven points in her second-highest scoring game of the season.
On Wednesday night in Tomsich Arena, Anissa Hardy ’26 got Kenyon on the board in the Owls’ first possession of the game. Ohio Wesleyan had a few successful offensive possessions of its own before Burdette managed a shot from behind the arc minutes later, tying the game at five apiece. While a series of defensive rebounds and misses marked much of the first quarter, both teams slowly added to their point totals. Shot from Mollabashy and Alyssa Horsley ’28 kept Kenyon even with Ohio Wesleyan, with the Battling Bishops taking the slight 18-16 advantage going into the second quarter.
After the break, Hardy once again was the first to score for Kenyon, tying the game at 18 with eight minutes left to play in the half. The second quarter saw five ties throughout the 10 minutes of play with strong offensive performances on both sides of the court. As time wound down, a foul sent Rae Oberster ’29 to the line, where the first year sank her shot, giving the Owls a one-point advantage as they headed to the locker room.
The third quarter began with a jumper from the Battling Bishops to reclaim the advantage. Ohio Wesleyan started to pull away from Kenyon, notching a six-point lead with four minutes to play in the quarter. The Owls, however, would not give in that easily, as Oberster and Marzini both sank layups to bring the deficit to just two. The Battling Bishops regained some ground before the start of the fourth quarter, bringing their lead to 44-38.
With just 10 minutes left to play, a Kenyon comeback seemed increasingly unlikely. For the first seven minutes of the quarter, the Battling Bishops had full control of the court, even extending their advantage to eight. But with just three minutes left, the Owls began to claw their way back into the game, starting with a Burdette 3-pointer. A missed offensive possession from the Battling Bishops and a second Burdette three, along with an Oberster jumper, tied the game at 57 apiece. With the crowd on their feet and the clock at a little over a minute to play, Hardy took Kenyon’s first lead since the second quarter, 59-57. A foul in favor of the Battling Bishops sent them to the line, where two made free throws evened the score. After calling a timeout to regroup, Kenyon eyed up an offensive possession to retake the lead but couldn’t sink a decisive shot, giving possession back to the Battling Bishops. With under a second left to play, an Ohio Wesleyan layup silenced the crowd and dashed Kenyon’s chances of a win, giving the Battling Bishops a 61-59 victory at the buzzer.
Despite the Wednesday night loss, the Owls have a lot to be proud of and will look to build on their offensive success in their few remaining games. The Owls will continue NCAC play on Saturday when they take on DePauw University at home for Senior Day.