WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Washington & Jefferson College women's basketball team saw its six-game winning streak snapped Friday afternoon when they were edged 63-60 by Denison University in action at the Smokey Ballenger Classic. The two-day event is being hosted by Otterbein University at the Rike Center. 
 
The loss drops W&J to 9-2 overall. Denison, winners of four-straight games, improves to 8-2 overall. The game featured 13 lead changes and six ties. 
 
Cold shooting hindered W&J in the loss. The Presidents converted a season-low 33.9 percent from the field. W&J came into the game ranking among the best in Division III in three-point shooting but made just five-of-20 attempts (25 percent) from behind the three-point line. 
 
Denison converted at a 44.4 percent clip from the field. The Big Red knocked down 8-of-19 from three-point range (42.1 percent). Three Denison players scored in double figures including a game-high 16 points from Ada Taute. 
 
Four Presidents scored in double figures during a balanced offensive output. Stellanie Loutsion (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) scored a team-high 13 points off the bench. Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists. Bryn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) and Adalynn Cherry (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) finished with 12 points and 10 points, respectively. 
 
W&J opened the game with eight-straight points. The early run was highlighted by a three-point field goal by Cherry. The Big Red ended a five-plus minute scoring drought when Brooke Tiogo made a jumper at the 4:48 mark of the first. 
 
Bezjak accounted for the next four W&J points to build the lead to 12-7 with 2:46 left in the first. The Big Red used an 8-2 run to take its first lead on a triple by Violet Mitchell with 14 seconds to play in the first. Loutsion pushed the ball the other way and converted a layup before adding a free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play. Loutsion's conversion made it 17-15 W&J after 10 minutes of play. 

The early stages of the second quarter were back and forth before Bezjak tallied five-straight points to bolster the W&J advantage to 27-20 at the 5:51 mark. However, the hot-shooting Big Red closed the first half with a 34-33 lead after putting together an extended 14-6 run. 

Denison stretched the lead to 40-33 after tallying six-straight points over the first 1:25 of the third quarter. The Presidents responded with a 10-0 run to regain the lead midway through the quarter. Dryburgh accounted for six points during that stretch and a three-point basket by Bezjak made it 43-40 Presidents at the 4:55 mark. W&J held Denison scoreless for five minutes during the run. Denison regained the lead twice more in the third before Loutsion closed the quarter with a bucket to even the score at 47-47.
 
The Big Red once again used a strong start to a quarter to gain some separation from the Presidents. Denison recorded the first eight points in the final frame. Back-to-back triples by Abby Cooch sparked the spurt. Cherry responded with five-straight points to trim the deficit to 55-52 at the 5:30 mark. A few minutes later, a driving layup by Kiyanna Dowling (York, Pa./York Suburban) brought the Presidents within a point at 57-56. 
 
W&J regained the lead with 59 seconds to play when Cherry converted a reverse layup to make it 60-59. The Presidents made an initial stop on the defensive end but were unable to grab the rebound. Denison was awarded possession and took a 61-60 lead on a layup by Abigail Westmeyer. After a stop on the other end, the Big Red sank a pair of free throws to extend the lead. W&J had a pair of looks from three to tie the game, but both attempts were off the mark. 
 
The close game was reflected on the stat sheet. W&J held a 22-15 advantage in points off turnovers and posted a 38-34 edge in rebounding. 
 
Friday's game was just the sixth all-time meeting between the two teams. W&J leads the all-time series by a 4-2 margin.

W&J takes on Olivet in the consolation game Saturday with a 12 p.m. start at the Smokey Ballenger Classic. 
 
Denison will face the host Cardinals in the championship game. Otterbein held off Olivet for a 54-47 victory in the opening game Friday.