The defining moments of a game traditionally come in the closing minutes.

Tuesday evening justified this notion.

The John Carroll University women's basketball team trimmed their deficit to two points on a Nicole Heffington jumper with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but Kenyon College's late five-minute run proved to be the decisive blow, as the Lords rattled off 16 of the last 18 points in a 55-48 victory at Tomsich Arena in Gambier, Ohio.

Heffington, a freshman forward, notched her second career double-double with 12 points (6-of-10 shooting) and 12 rebounds, while junior guard Kahrin Spear tallied 10 points with four assists and three rebounds. Sophomore guard Dani Carlson and freshman guard Abby Adler rounded out the contributions, posting eight and seven points (career-high) respectively in the hard-fought effort.

Right from the outset, the evenly matched affair took form, as neither team could garner an advantage greater than eight points in the first half. Heffington knocked down two layups to start the game, and Spear splashed a free throw in the middle of the second quarter to give the Blue Streaks a trio of brief leads.

More of the same back-and-forth action ensued, with JCU going on a 9-3 run to reclaim a 35-33 lead, punctuated by a Carlson shot from beyond the perimeter.

Adler propelled her team to a three-point cushion on a free throw with just under four minutes remaining in the third quarter. Junior forward Bri Pittenger sealed the period with a short-range jumper, putting the score at 39-37 heading into the fourth.

Adler returned to the scoring column with authority, giving the Blue and Gold a 46-39 advantage – the largest of the game – on a jump shot, forcing the Lords to take a timeout with 6:18 left in regulation.

The break from play immediately paid dividends.

Kenyon went on an 11-0 run in the next four minutes, keyed by its first two made three pointers of the contest after missing the first 17, to take a 50-46 lead heading into the last two minutes. Heffington responded with what would be her team's final points. The Blue Streaks missed their final four shots during that span. Kenyon was able to ice the game at the free throw line.

The Blue Streaks (1-2) will take a four-day hiatus before returning to action against the Nazareth College Golden Flyers on Sunday at 2 p.m. from the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.