GAMBIER, Ohio - February 19, 2022 – Hiram women's basketball ended the regular season on a high note, holding off a late charge from the Ladies to pick up a 72-71 win over Kenyon College on Saturday at Tomsich Arena.
 
Kenyon's Bridget Molnar kicked off the scoring with her layup just eight seconds into the first quarter before Cici Bright knotted the score at 2-all with a layup over her own with 9:02 left in the first.
 
The Ladies then reeled off a 10-0 run over the next five minutes, taking a 12-2 lead on Claudia Cook's made free throws with 4:10 to play in the quarter, before the Terriers answered with a run of their own.
 
Hiram closed the first period on an 8-2 run, capped off by two free throws by Taylor Valaitis, to cut Kenyon's just to just three, 13-10, after one-quarter of play.
 
Kenyon though, quickly extended their lead back out to double digits to start the second, as back-to-back buckets by Katie Orefice made it a 10-point game, 22-12, just under four minutes into the second.
 
Again though, the Terriers had an answer, holding the Ladies to just two points over the next two minutes to go on a 10-2 run, pulling within two on a pair of made free throws by Haley Thompson.
 
A quick 8-0 run by the Ladies again made it a 10-point lead, 32-22 with 2:56 left in the first half, but Hiram cut Kenyon's lead back down to single digits on Iyana Smith's layup, and pulled within five on Ella Dukarm's fast-break layup to head into the locker room down 35-30.
 
The Terriers kept things close for much of the third, with the Ladies unable to extend their lead past six, before a 5-0 Hiram run, kicked off by an and-one from Selena Vargas, tied the score at 50-50 heading to the fouth.
 
Hiram then took its first lead since the first half to start the fourth on Alex Lichner's three-pointer, but Greta Propp answered at the other end with a triple of her own.
 
Four-straight from Thompson made it a four-point Hiram lead, 57-53, and after a three from Grace Connery, a Thompson free throw and layup by Vargas again made it a four-point Hiram lead.
 
Up by four, Hiram and Kenyon proceeded to trade buckets, until free throws by Lichner and Madson Branch's jumper gave Hiram its largest lead of the fourth, 69-63, with 2:16 to play, forcing the Ladies to take a timeout.
 
Out of the timeout though, Connery hit another three, and after a turnover on the other end, Orefice sank a layup to make it a one-point game.
 
Kenyon then looked to tie things up or take the lead out of another time, but Orefice turned it over and the Ladies were forced to foul. Branch went to the line and knocked down them before, but Madelyn Anderson sank a three on the ensuing possession to knot the score at 71-all.
 
Hiram then took a timeout, and Thompson was fouled on their final possession, sending the junior to the free-throw line.
 
Thompson missed the first but made the second, and Orefice missed her heave at the buzzer to give the Terriers a 72-71 victory.
 
With the win, Hiram wraps up the regular season at 8-16 (4-12 NCAC), while the Ladies drop to 6-19 (4-12 NCAC).
 
Thompson led the Terriers with 20 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter, adding seven rebounds and one assist. Lichner and Branch joined Thompson in double figures with 11 and 10 points apiece, while Branch added a team-high five assists.
 
On the glass, Vargas led Hiram with eight rebounds, while as a team, the Terriers out-rebounded the Ladies, 34-28.
 
By virtue of a tiebreaker with the Ladies, Hiram earns the No. 6 seed in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Women's Basketball Tournament and will travel to Delaware, Ohio on Tuesday, Feb. 22 for a matchup against the third-seeded Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops with a tip-off time yet to be determined.