Roundup: Tigers Split a Pair Against OWU and Oberlin
The Wittenberg University women's basketball team is well on its way to a 13th consecutive winning season. But winning games is just a means to an end for a Tiger team that is in the thick of the NCAC race once again.
Kate Rolf
Meghan Bruggeman
The Wittenberg University women's basketball team is well on its way to a 13th consecutive winning season. But winning games is just a means to an end for a Tiger team that is in the thick of the NCAC race once again.
Last week, the Tigers lost a heartbreaker at Ohio Wesleyan in a battle for first place but rebounded strongly on Saturday to wallop Oberlin. Wittenberg is 5-1 in the NCAC, just one-half game behind defending conference titlist and NCAA Division III Final Four participant OWU
Against the Bishops, the Tigers got 15 points from All-NCAC junior guard Kate Rolf (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll), as well as a double-double from junior forward Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) off the bench (10 points and 10 rebounds) but still fell 74-72. In addition, junior forward Meghan Bruggeman (Middletown, Ohio/Fenwick) dropped in 10 points and pulled down four rebounds in just nine minutes of action off the bench.
Wittenberg then came back on Saturday to defeat visiting Oberlin 82-50. The Tigers ended the first half on a 19-5 run after falling behind 25-24 with 7:06 remaining. A 22-2 run to start the second half buried the Yeowomen, who fell to 5-7 overall and 1-5 in the NCAC with the loss. Wittenberg held Oberlin to 20 percent shooting in the second half and outrebounded the Yeowomen 55-31.
Wittenberg was paced offensively by Tiffany Keller, who hit 7-of-9 field goals en route to a game-high 16 points. Junior center Rebecca Meers(Moline, Ill./Moline) came off the bench to drop in 12 points and pull down five rebounds, while sophomore forward Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood)chipped in with 11 points and five rebounds. In addition, sophomore forward Amanda Lewis (Mechanicsburg, Ohio/Mechanicsburg) came off the bench to score six points and pull down a career-high nine rebounds.
A story to continue to watch is Head Coach Pam Smith's pursuit of 300 career wins. Far and away the Tigers' winningest coach of all-time, Smith won No. 290 against Oberlin. Wittenberg has 10 more regular season games remaining and at least one NCAC tournament game likely to be added to the schedule.