“Johns Hopkins Soars to Victory: A Stunning Fourth Quarter Rally in Florida Showdown!”

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Dec. 30) — Johns Hopkins recorded 12 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to come back and defeat the Denison University women’s basketball team by a score of 61-53 in a Division III matchup at St. Pete Catholic High School in Florida. 

For the second consecutive day, the Big Red’s opportunity for a victory against a ranked competitor fell short, despite having leads in the second half of both matches. 

This late surge propelled Johns Hopkins to an overall record of 8-2. Denison falls to 7-5 for the present season. 

Sophomore guard Violet Mitchell led Denison in scoring once again. Mitchell finished the game with 17 points while also adding four rebounds. 

Senior forward Abigail Westmeyer recorded seven points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in the defeat. Sophomore guard Abby Cooch contributed a team-leading five assists. 

Both squads started slowly offensively due to the 11 a.m. tip-off. JHU held a 13-10 advantage after the initial 10 minutes of action. Denison managed only two field goals in the first quarter but made five points at the charity stripe. 

The Blue Jays commenced the second quarter with a pair of free throws before Denison rattled off five consecutive points to tie the score at 15. A three-pointer from Mitchell put Denison ahead 18-17 at the 5:43 mark. Layups from Westmeyer and Mitchell extended the DU lead to 22-17 just a bit more than a minute later. Denison maintained the lead for the rest of the half, although JHU managed to cut it down to one point at 26-25 at halftime. 

The Blue Jays began the third quarter with a 9-0 surge to take the lead. A three-pointer increased their advantage to 34-26 at the 7:13 mark. Denison spent the remainder of the quarter trying to catch up. A three-point shot by junior Brooke Toigo narrowed the JHU lead to 34-31 near the midpoint. Later in the period, a layup from sophomore Maeve Perry and subsequent free throws from Westmeyer tied the game at 41-41 with 1:29 remaining on the clock. The Blue Jays managed a layup with 38 seconds left to enter the fourth quarter with a slim lead. 

Denison started the final quarter strong, scoring on back-to-back possessions to reclaim the lead. Senior Maddie Goodman converted a three-pointer while senior Bryana Woodard scored on a layup at the 9:00 mark to make it 46-43 for Denison. 

After a free throw by Cooch made it 47-45 with 7:27 remaining, Denison went more than six minutes without scoring. During this stretch, JHU netted 12 consecutive points to establish a double-digit cushion. Westmeyer ended the scoreless streak with a layup at 1:06 remaining, but the deficit was too significant at that point. Although Denison held JHU without a field goal in the last four minutes, the Blue Jays were able to make seven free throws in that time to secure the victory. 

Denison struggled to find their shooting rhythm in the loss. The Big Red finished with 32.2 percent shooting from the field and only 17.4 percent (4-23) from beyond the arc. JHU concluded at 35.9 percent from the field and succeeded only two out of nine three-point attempts. Furthermore, JHU held a plus seven advantage in turnover margin (16-9). 

Michaela O’Neil led the Blue Jays in scoring with a game-high 19 points. 

Next Up: Denison will resume play in 2025, traveling to Kenyon College for a North Coast Athletic Conference contest. The matchup between the Big Red and the Owls is set to begin at 1 p.m.