WITTENBERG FACES CHALLENGE IN NCAC TOURNAMENT; OPENS WITH EARLHAM ON TUESDAY Tuesday, February 25, 1997 Earlham (7-17, 5-11) at Wittenberg (16-7, 13-3), 6 p.m. Thursday, February 27, 1997--NCAC Semi-Finals at Wooster, 6:15 p.m. Saturday, March 1, 1997--NCAC Championship at Wooster, 4 p.m. THE WEEK AHEAD: Wittenberg (16-7, 13-3), which finished second in the North Coast Athletic Conference this season after three straight titles, looks to finish with an NCAC tournament title. The Tigers have won four previous tourneys, including two straight. €Junior post Sarah Jurewicz has surpassed the 1,000-point plateau last Wednesday with her 10 points at Earlham. She is the fifth player and first junior in Wittenberg women's history to reach that plateau. €Earlier this season Wittenberg defeated Earlham 84-68 at home behind 24 points by both Sarah Jurewicz and Tracy Trigg, season highs for both, and last Wednesday defeated the Quakers again, 85-59, as Trigg had 17 points and 11 rebounds. €Wittenberg's all-time NCAC tournament record is 18-3. The Tigers have been in the championship game all seven previous years and won the title in 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1996. COACH PAM EVANS: A 1982 Wittenberg graduate, Pam Evans is in her 11th season leading the Tiger basketball program. She has a 205-90 (.695) career record and a 112-8 (.933) mark in NCAC play. Evans came into the season as the 29th winningest active coach in Division III out of nearly 400 programs. She has earned Coach of the Year honors four times in seven years, three times in the North Coast Athletic Conference and once in the District. Evans was a three-time most valuable player and Academic All-America at Wittenberg. TIGER TALES €Senior wing Mechelle Pothast (Versailles, O./Versailles) scored a season-high 24 points and hit a school-record 8 three-pointers in Wittenberg's 90-78 victory over Ohio Wesleyan. In the last four games she has averaged 15.5 points and hit 22 of 40 from the field (.550) and 17 of 29 (.605) from three point range. She holds both Wittenberg's season (87) and career (187) records for three-point field goals. €Freshman Amber Sherman (Mechanicsburg, O./Mechanicsburg) leads the NCAC in three-point percentage at .476 (39 of 82) and the latest NCAA Division III statistics she was among the top 10 in the nation. Against Ohio Wesleyan she had 20 points, hitting 7 of 14 from the floor including 4 of 8 from three-point range. €Junior post Sarah Jurewicz (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) is currently 12th among NCAC scorers (11.8), third in field goal percentage (.552) and sixth in rebounding (8.3). Jurewicz has 1,006 career points, fifth in Tiger history, and 683 career rebounds, third on the all-time list. €Junior guard Silvia Bonometti (Riva del Garda, Italy/West Liberty Salem, O.) is averaging 6.6 points and 3.5 assists per outing, third in the NCAC. She has 18 assists and 10 steals in her last four games. Her 252 career assists is third best in Wittenberg history. €Senior post Tracy Trigg (Delaware, O./Olentangy) had 17 points against Earlham last week and made all eight of her field goals. Against Earlham this season she is a perfect 18 of 18 with 17 rebounds and 41 points. €Sophomore post Melissa Kolbe (Chesterland, O./West Geauga) has averaged 6.6 rebounds per game in her last five games and 10.7 points in her last six. Over her last six games she has shot .600 (27 of 45) from the floor. €Senior Pam Purcell (Cincinnati, O./Indian Hill) is contributing quality minutes off the bench. She is shooting .660 from the floor and averaging 4.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. She matched a season high with 10 points at Earlham, making 5 of 6 shots from the floor. OPPONENT INFO: EARLHAM is coached by Jill Butcher (Indiana State '80) who is in her sixth year with a 56-86 record. NCAC STATS: Wittenberg leads the NCAC in rebound margin (7.7), offensive field goal percentage (.442), three-point field goal percentage (.379), offense (71.0), and ranks second in scoring margin (13.4) and is fourth in defensive field goal percentage (.380) and sixth in free throw percentage (.614). ON THE WEB: Wittenberg's World Wide Web site offers up-to-date information on all Tiger athletic teams, including women's basketball. Scores, results, stats and boxscores are available to anyone who has access to the internet. Wittenberg's home page address is: http://www.wittenberg.edu. BY THE NUMBERS: €Wittenberg's overall record since 1989-90 is 180-39 (.822). €The Tigers' all-time regular season NCAC record is 112-8 (.933) €Wittenberg's home court record since 1989-90 is 89-11 (.890). €Against NCAC foes at home (inc. tourneys), Wittenberg is 61-3 (.952), with two losses coming at the hands of Ohio Wesleyan and the third to Kenyon. €Wittenberg has won four North Coast championships in the eight seasons it has been a member of the league. LOOKING AHEAD If Wittenberg wins the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament it would receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Otherwise, the team's string of four straight appearances is likely to end.