GAMBIER, Ohio—Freshman guard Paige Ricketts (Mineral City/Tusky Valley) recorded her first career double-digit scoring performance, tallying 10 points, but the Heidelberg University women's basketball team lost a non-conference game to Kenyon College, 71-49, tonight at Tomsich Arena in Gambier, Ohio. The game completed a four-game stretch on the road for the Berg.
Sophomore guard Kathleen Phillips (Sandusky/St. Mary's) scored a team-high 14 points for Heidelberg (2-3), combining with Ricketts to account for nearly 50 percent of the team's offense.
The Berg took an early 2-0 led when Phillips sank a jump shot less than 30 seconds into the game, but the Ladies (5-2) went on a 15-4 run to take a 15-6 lead as Morgan Korinek buried a three-pointer at the 15:18 mark of the opening half.
The Tri-Color began to chip into Kenyon's lead, moving as close as 20-18 when Ricketts canned a triple with 10:52 on the clock. Phillips converted a three-point play at the 8:21 mark to tie the score at 24-24 and Ricketts made another three-pointer to give Heidelberg its final lead of the game, 27-26, at the 7:16 mark.
Kenyon built a lead as large as 13 points and closed the first half by going on a 15-3 run to take a 41-30 advantage into the break.
The Ladies maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half, leading by as many as 28 points, and limited the Berg to eight field goals in the period.
Sophomore guard Megan Miller (Tiffin/Columbian) and freshman guard Erika Jordan (Bellevue) each scored six points in the effort and sophomore forward Jessica Simpkins (Sunbury/Big Walnut) pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
Kenyon had four players score in double figures, led by Maureen Hirt with 18 points, Korinek with 15 points and a game-high-tying nine rebounds, Kayla Earnst with 12 and Katie Adlam with 11. The Ladies shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the field and held a 33-37 advantage on the glass.
The Berg returns to the hardwood Saturday, Dec. 3 as it opens Ohio Athletic Conference play by hosting Wilmington College at 3 p.m. The match-up will be the first home game for Heidelberg in more than two weeks.