It all came down to Saturday’s game between the women’s basketball squads from #9-ranked Ohio Wesleyan (20-4, 11-3) and #7 Denison (24-1, 13-1) in Granville. The NCAC regular season title would be awarded to the winner. When the two tangled in Delaware in January, OWU posted a come-from-behind 72-65 victory.

This Saturday, Denison wrapped up its first conference regular season championship in ten seasons with a 72-70 win, its first victory over the Bishops in six seasons. In an extraordinarily close contest throughout, the score was tied five different times in the fourth quarter.

Ada Taute paced the Big Red with 22 points and six assists. She added nine rebounds. Also in double figures for Denison were Abby Cooch (18), Brooke Toigo (11), and Violet Mitchell (10). The Big Red dominated down low, outscoring OWU in the paint, 46-34. One reason – 10 rebounds from Anelly Mad-toingué.

The Bishops were led by Macy Miller, a Fairbanks grad, who scored 29 and had a team-high 10 rebounds. Delaware Christian’s Katie Neuhart added 10 points. Maddie Ebbert recorded seven assists for Ohio Wesleyan.

Next up is the NCAC tournament. Both teams play in Granville on Thursday, February 26 in the semifinal round. Denison will play the winner of the DePauw/Wittenberg quarterfinal matchup at 5:00 p.m., while Ohio Wesleyan will take on the winner of the John Carroll/Oberlin game at 7:00 p.m.