GAMBIER, Ohio – Senior center Emily Mueller (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) led a balanced Spartan scoring attack with 10 points, but home-standing Kenyon College utilized a late 13-0 run that propelled the hosts to a 55-52 victory versus Case Western Reserve University in women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon in the opening game of the 2012 University Athletic Association/North Coast Athletic Conference Challenge inside Tomsich Arena.

The Spartans drop their first contest of the young season and fall to 3-1. They look to get back on the winning path tomorrow when they venture just down the road to Granville to square off with Denison University at 2:00 p.m.

With the victory, Kenyon improves to 3-1.

The first half saw Case turn an early 2-2 tie into a 16-5 lead near the midway point following a lay-up by sophomore Erin Reynolds (St. Louis, Mo./Webster Groves). The visitors maintained the double-digit lead as it grew to as many as 14 at 22-8 on a lay-up at the 6:27 mark from freshman forward Laura Mummey (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson).

However, Kenyon rattled off a 7-0 spurt over the next 2:15 of action capped off with a three-point field goal from Maureen Hirt. The Spartans were able to thwart the momentum and held a 10-point lead at 33-23 headed into the break.

In the second stanza, Case continued to possess its double-digit lead for a majority of play and held a 10-point advantage at 52-42 with 5:28 left in regulation on a three-pointer from senior guard Evy Iacono (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame).

Not done yet, the Ladies recorded the final 13 points of the contest, and Iacono missed a potential game-tying three-point attempt with four seconds left as the hosts held on for the three-point victory.

In addition to Mueller's 10-point output on 4-of-6 shooting, Iacono, sophomore forward Berit Eppard (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek) and Mummey each chipped in with eight points. Additionally, Reynolds finished with six points off the bench, while Iacono and senior guard Erica Iafelice (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) each dished out six assists.

Kayla Ernst led three Kenyon players in double figures with game-highs of 18 points and 10 rebounds. Maggie Boelter finished with 15 points, while Katie Adlam added 13 points, seven assists, six steals and five rebounds.

Defensively, the Spartans limited Kenyon to just 29.8 percent (17-of-57) shooting for the game and 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from beyond the three-point arc.

Following tomorrow's UAA/NCAC Challenge finale versus Denison, the Spartans are right back in action on the road for a Wednesday, November 28  game versus local-rival John Carroll University at 7:30 p.m.