Wittenberg Overcomes Ohio Wesleyan to Win NCAC Tourney Title
The Wittenberg Tigers had seen this movie before, and they were none too happy with the ending. This time, the Tigers wrote a much more pleasing script for themselves, toppling two-time defending North Coast Athletic Conference tournament champion Ohio Wesleyan, 72-58, on the same court where the Battling Bishops had won the 2002 title.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers had seen this movie before, and they were none too happy with the ending. This time, the Tigers wrote a much more pleasing script for themselves, toppling two-time defending North Coast Athletic Conference tournament champion Ohio Wesleyan, 72-58, on the same court where the Battling Bishops had won the 2002 title.
The win advanced Wittenberg, the No. 1 seed after a perfect 16-0 NCAC regular season, to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time since 1998 and the seventh time in school history. The Tigers, 24-4 overall and riding a 19-game winning streak dating back to a Dec. 30 loss at Wilmington, won the NCAC tournament for the sixth time since joining the conference prior to the 1988-89 season. Ohio Wesleyan, the No. 2 seed after finishing second in the regular season with a 12-4 conference record, saw its season end with an 18-10 overall record.
The win was sweet for the Tigers, especially with the memory of last year's game lingering in the players' minds, especially the team's five seniors. Ohio Wesleyan had bounced Wittenberg from the NCAC tournament three of the last four years, including in 2002 when the Bishops rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit to stun the top-seeded Tigers. In that game, Wittenberg led 51-32 with 16:34 remaining before OWU came all the way back. Only a desperation three-pointer by Wittenberg guard Stephanie Campbell (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) at the buzzer sent the game into overtime before OWU exerted its dominance in the paint in overtime to claim the title and advance to a second straight NCAA tourney.
The 2003 title game seemed to be following a similar script as Wittenberg expanded an eight-point halftime advantage to 61-38 with 8:17 remaining in the game. The difference was that the Tigers exhibited patience on offense and played better interior defense this year, despite several OWU runs in the waning moments that closed the margin as low as 12 points with four minutes remaining. As a team, OWU shot the ball better from the field (50 percent to 39 percent), but Wittenberg earned themselves more opportunities. The Tigers 26 more shots from the field because they won the rebounding battle 40-31, including 16-5 on the offensive end, and forced 25 OWU turnovers, compared to 14 by the Tigers.
Wittenberg was paced offensively by senior forward Meghan Bruggeman (Middletown, Ohio/Fenwick), who had 15 points and six rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench. Junior forward Haley Warden (Loveland, Ohio/Indian Hill) added 10 points and five rebounds, senior forward Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) chipped in with eight points and seven boards, Campbell finished with nine points and five assists and senior guard Kate Rolf (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll) hit for eight points, including a clutch three-pointer to stem an OWU run early in the second half, four rebounds and four steals.
Ohio Wesleyan got a game-high 20 points from the NCAC's leading scorer, Kelly Heil. Erica Brizendine added 12 points and Mindy Hammond added six points, six assists and nine rebounds. Heil and Hammond were named to NCAC All-Tournament Team.
Campbell, Bruggeman and Denison's Ann Staubach were also named to the All-Tournament Team. The Tournament Most Valuable Player award went to Rolf.
Wittenberg now awaits word of a first-round NCAA tournament opponent and site. The unveiling of the selections takes place on Sunday afternoon. First round games are slated for Wednesday, March 5.