The Muskingum women's basketball team lost, 73-61, to Albion in the Bishop Classic/Hoops for Hope championship game on Saturday evening.

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (6-5 overall), Albion (9-3 overall)
• Location: Delaware, Ohio – Branch Rickey Arena

Notables:

• During the two-day tournament, senior's Olivia Besancon and Alexandra Carson each tabbed All-Tournament Team honors. Besancon totaled 45 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals, while Carson collected 26 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

 Inside the Numbers

• Besancon paced the Muskies offense with 18 points, shooting 6-of-13 from the floor (46.2%).
• The senior duo of Stephanie Clark and Carson each posted 11 points, while Clark grabbed eight rebounds.
• Dana Parkman snagged a team-high nine rebounds.
• Caitlyn Smith tossed in six assists.
• Kacie Leppla came off the bench to score eight points and add four rebounds.
• Muskingum shot .365 (19-of-52) from the floor, .286 (8-of-28) from the arc, and .750 from the free throw line (15-of-20).
• The Muskies and Britons each gathered 35 rebounds.
• Four Albion players notched double-digit scoring with Evelyn Wischmeyer leading the way with 23 points and finishing with a game-best six steals.
• Rain Hinton led the Britons reserves with 15 points, while Maija Gillum also came off the bench to add 11 points.
• Sam Carter chipped in 10 points for Albion.
• Ohio Wesleyan finished the contest making .468 (29-of-62) from the field.

Game Highlights

Carson got Muskingum off on the right foot as she drained a three-pointer four seconds into the first quarter. The Muskies closed off the first frame by knocking down five straight points to take the 20-14 lead. Muskingum held the advantage throughout the second quarter until the 1:02 marker when the Britons drilled a three, making it 33-31. Seconds later, Besancon made two free throws to tie the contest, 33-33, and the score stayed the same heading into halftime.

Albion outscored the Muskies, 22-11, in the third quarter to pull ahead, 55-44. Heading into the fourth quarter, Muskingum got within nine points off Emily Yeager's made layup with 5:05 on the clock. However, that would be the closest the Muskies got as the Britons ended the game on an 8-4 run to win the Bishop Classic/Hoops for Hope championship game.

Up Next

• Muskingum returns to Ohio Athletic Conference play on, January 3, as they welcome Division III #21 Marietta to the Anne C. Steele Center for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.