Posted December 30, 2003
Posted by: Ryan Maurer

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Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - It was a game that the Wittenberg Tigers simply had to have, and in the end they found a way to gut out a 66-58 win over regional powerhouse Wilmington College. The win was crucial for a Tigers team that had played several quality teams tough this season, but hadn't come up with the big shots often enough in losses to ranked foes DePauw, Thomas More, Hope and Baldwin-Wallace.

The win evened Wittenberg's record at 5-5 heading into North Coast Athletic Conference action, which opens in earnest Friday and Saturday with home games against Allegheny and Hiram. The Tigers carry a 21-game regular season NCAC win streak into those games, dating back to the end of the 2001-02 season. Wilmington, a regular in the NCAA Division III Tournament in recent years, dropped to 6-3 overall in 2003-04.

Wittenberg fell behind early in the game as the Tigers continued to shoot the ball poorly, a problem for the team this season. Wilmington, however, failed to capitalize, shooting just as poorly and allowing Wittenberg close a nine-point gap to just one in the final 2:42 of the first half. Sophomore Carrie Jones (Greenville, Ohio/Greenville) provided the offensive spark in that half-ending 10-2 burst as she scored six points.

In the second half, Wilmington again eased out to a lead, this time taking a 39-31 advantage at the 14:10 mark, but Wittenberg again battled back with a 13-2 run over a five-minute span, capped by an Amber Bishop (Batavia, Ohio/Batavia) three-pointer that staked the Tigers to a 44-41 lead. Wilmington held its last lead of the game until the 2:30 mark when Tiger freshman Kathy Hittle (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) canned a pair of free throws to give Wittenberg the lead for good. The Tigers scored 12 of the game's final 14 points spanning the last 2:58.

For the game, Wittenberg shot 33 percent from the field and just 25 percent from three-point range. But the Tigers played strong defense, limiting Wilmington to 37 percent shooting from the field and 30 percent shooting from three-point range while forcing a whopping 25 turnovers. Wittenberg was outrebounded 46-39, but the difference in turnovers, 25-14, was key, as was free throw shooting. The Tigers hit 23-of-29 while Wilmington mustered just 11-of-20. Wittenberg got yet another double-double effort from foul-plagued Haley Warden (Loveland, Ohio/Indian Hill) as she rallied the troops in the second half to finish with 12 points and 12 rebounds, including a clutch 10-for-10 effort from the free throw line. Game scoring honors went to Jones and Bishop with 14 points apiece. Wilmington got a game-high 21-point effort from Tara Rausch and 13 points and 17 rebounds from Siobhan Zerilla in a losing effort.