GRANVILLE, Ohio – February 25, 2025 – Hiram made history in the NCAC Tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday evening at Livingston Gymnasium, beating Denison behind a dominant defensive effort, 61-56, to earn the program's first ever NCAC Tournament win.
It also marks the first time the Terriers have won a conference tournament game since 1998 (vs Heidelberg), when Hiram College was a full-time member of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC).
Hiram's defense held the Big Red to just 5 points on 2-of-12 shooting in the first quarter, while the offense found a spark and made over half of its field goals to grab a 16-5 lead through the first 10 minutes.
Ava Mory scored 8 of her career-high 17 points during that span, while three other Terriers players also cracked the scoring column for the early burst of momentum.
The Terriers kept that defensive intensity in the second and third quarters, outscoring Denison, 15-12, in each of the two periods. First-year
Isabella Caceres scored 16 points in that stretch of consistent basketball – which included 3 3-pointers – expanding Hiram's advantage to 46-29 with just the fourth quarter left in regulation.
Denison, which entered play with an 8-4 record at home, fought back in the final period and cut the margin as close as 3 points with under 10 seconds to go, but a pair of free throws from Caceres held off the late surge from the Big Red. Mory added another 5 points to keep her team in front, while
Avril Drew and
Anastasia Lawler also contributed on the offensive end in the critical stretch of the game.
In addition to Mory's career-high 17 points, Caceres also had a team-high 18 points in her first collegiate postseason game. The Cypress, CA native's two highest-scoring games of the season up to this point have both come against the Big Red (23 points at Denison on Jan. 18).
First-year
Maya Joiner played a career-high 31 minutes in her first playoff action, which also included career-bests in rebounds (13), assists (four) and blocks (five). The five blocks are tied for the fifth-most in a single game in program history. Lawler finished with 9 points, five rebounds, two assists and five steals, giving her three games this season with at least five steals.
All in all, the veteran experience of the roster molded perfectly with its first-year stars to seal the 2024-25 team's spot in Hiram program history.
The Terriers will now look ahead to Friday, when they travel to Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, OH) for the semifinals of the NCAC Tournament against second-seeded DePauw. The Tigers earned a bye in the quarterfinals of the tournament thanks to an 12-2 NCAC record (18-6 overall) in the regular season.
