In the Kenyons Ladies' last game of calendar 2021, on day two of the Smokey Ballenger Classic hosted by Otterbein University, the Kenyon College women’s basketball team fell in a close match against Mount Saint Joseph University, 74-70, despite fourth-quarter heroics and a career-game on both ends by Katie Orefice.
In the opening quarter, the Lions scored the first five points of the game before Kenyon's Madelyn Anderson hit her first three-point shot of the game. Mount St. Joseph answered Anderson’s deep ball with a 14-0 run to gain separation from the Ladies. At the end of the first, the Lions held a 19-8 lead.
The second quarter of play saw both teams exchanging buckets. Kenyon shot 5-for-8 from three-point territory and 52.9% from the field. With 3:24 left in the quarter, the Ladies pulled within one of the Lions when Grace Connery knocked down a three-pointer. Mount St. Joseph ended the half on a 9-0 streak to go up 44-34.
After halftime, the Lions made a deep shot before Claudia Cooke scored Kenyon’s next seven points. Mount St. Joseph gained its biggest lead of the match with seven seconds remaining in the third quarter, 64-47. With a second left on the clock, Orefice connected from deep to make the score 64-50 headed into the final 10 minutes of play.
In the first minutes of the fourth quarter, the Ladies hit three three-pointers to cut the Lion lead down to five. As the clock approached three minutes to go, Orefice converted a layup to bring the game within two. Mount St. Joseph continued to hold onto the lead as the game went under a minute remaining. Orefice got the Ladies within striking distance on another layup to make the game 71-70. A Ladies’ turnover allowed the Lions to draw fouls to close out the game, making three of their four free throws. In the fourth, Kenyon held Mount St. Joseph to an 18.8% field shooting percentage while shooting 53.3% themselves, outscoring the Lions 20-10 in the final quarter.
Orefice led all scorers with a career-high 29 points to go along with a career-high 16 rebounds. Connery ended the game with 16 points and five rebounds of her own.
The Ladies fell to 3-10, while the Lions improved to 4-7.
