Denison 74, Ohio Wesleyan 71

Feb. 6, 2004

Emma Woodward converted a 3-point play with :06 left in the first overtime as Denison overcame a record-setting performance by junior wing Kelly Heil (Sylvania/Southview) and junior post Erica Brizendine (Grove City) to take a North Coast Athletic Conference win over Ohio Wesleyan on Friday night at Branch Rickey Arena.

Brizendine led the Bishops with a career-high 31 points, while Heil finished with 30 points, marking the first time in Ohio Wesleyan women's basketball history that 2 Battling Bishop players scored 30 or more points in the same game.

Behind the scoring of Heil and Brizendine, Ohio Wesleyan had erased a 15-point second-half deficit to send the game into overtime, then wiped out a 3-point deficit in overtime, tying the game at 71-71 on a pair of free throws by freshman post Tifini Ray (Hilliard/Davidson) with :54 to play.

The Big Red worked the clock down on its next possession, with Marisa Hard taking a shot as the shot clock was about to run out. Hard's shot was off the mark, but she followed the shot and came up with the offensive rebound, and Denison called time out with :19 remaining.

Denison worked the ball around the perimeter, then Woodward flashed to the basket and Emily Larouere hit her in stride for a lay-in. Junior guard Celina Dopoulos (Strongsville) was called for a foul on the play, and Woodward hit the free throw to give the Big Red a 74-71 lead with :06 left.

Ohio Wesleyan got the ball into the frontcourt and called time out with :04 remaining. The ensuing inbounds pass went to Dopoulos in the right corner, and while she got a good look at the hoop, her 3-point shot was off the rim just before the final buzzer.

The Bishops had trailed, 57-42, with 7:41 left in regulation time.

Brizendine started the comeback with a jumper in the lane, then Heil followed with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, a drive along the left baseline, a 3-point play and another driving bucket before Brizendine followed with a lay-in that brought Ohio Wesleyan within 58-56 with 4:10 to play.

Ann Staubach ended the Denison drought with a jumper from the lane, giving the Big Red a 60-56 lead, but the Bishops closed to within 60-59 on a Brizendine lay-in and a free throw by junior post Shelby Larson (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows) with 2:29 to play.

Larouere hit a 3-pointer on Denison's next possession to pad the Big Red lead to 63-59, but Ohio Wesleyan came back with a pair of Heil free throws with 1:03 remaining to bring the Bishops back to within 63-61.

Staubach missed a shot on Denison's next possession, but Brizendine could not control the rebound and the ball went out of bounds to Denison. The Big Red could not capitalize on the chance, however, as Woodward missed a shot and Ohio Wesleyan cleared the rebound.

The Bishops sent the ball inside to Brizendine, but she lost the handle on it as she was going up for a shot and Denison got the ball back. Woodward was fouled with :08 remaining and went to the line, but missed the front end of the one-and-one and Ohio Wesleyan got the ball back when the ball went out of bounds with :06 left.

Dopoulos took the inbounds pass and drove the length of the court and into the lane, and her shot slipped over the rim with :00.6 on the clock.

Ohio Wesleyan took an early lead in the overtime period on Brizendine's offensive rebound basket, and after Woodward hit 2 free throws to tie the game, the Bishops went up 66-65 on a Brizendine free throw.

Denison went ahead to stay on Woodward's drive to the basket with 3:25 left in overtime and added to the lead with a pair of Larouere free throws with 2:38 remaining. Heil and Jessica McConnell traded baskets, the latter giving Denison a 71-68 lead, going into the final 2 minutes of overtime.

The Big Red had built its lead on torrid outside shooting. Denison had taken a 17-10 lead on 3-pointers by McConnell and Woodward, only to see the Bishops tie the game at 17-17 on a Ray basket, a Heil basket and a Heil 3-pointer.

McConnell and Woodward came back with 3-pointers to highlight a 10-2 run that stretched the Denison lead to 27-19, then McConnell added 2 more 3-pointers during the second half as the Big Red opened a 39-33 lead into a 57-42 advantage.

Brizendine's 31 points topped her previous career high of 26 set last week at Allegheny. Heil's 30 points marked the fifth time in her career that she has reached that figure, tying Krista Jacobs for the most career 30-point games at Ohio Wesleyan. Heil led the Bishops with 15 rebounds and Brizendine grabbed 13 rebounds. Senior guard Krystal Sensabaugh (Wapakoneta) led the Bishops with 7 assists.

Woodward led the Big Red with 19 points and Larouere finished with 15 points and a team-high 7 assists. Kristen Sheffield led Denison with 12 rebounds.

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