Wittenberg defeats Earlham in battle for first place in NCAC
The Wittenberg University ran the gauntlet, or at least the closest thing to it in the North Coast Athletic Conference in 2002-03, and came through with a perfect 3-0 record, closing out another title contender, Earlham College, by a 65-55 count at home in the HPER Center. The win improved Wittenberg to 10-4 overall and, more importantly, 5-0 in the NCAC, while Earlham fell to 9-4 overall and 4-2 in the conference.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg University ran the gauntlet, or at least the closest thing to it in the North Coast Athletic Conference in 2002-03, and came through with a perfect 3-0 record, closing out another title contender, Earlham College, by a 65-55 count at home in the HPER Center. The win improved Wittenberg to 10-4 overall and, more importantly, 5-0 in the NCAC, while Earlham fell to 9-4 overall and 4-2 in the conference.
Wittenberg jumped out to an 11-2 lead five minutes into the game and held at least a five-point advantage throughout the rest of the game. The Quakers closed to within 23-18 at the 5:37 mark of the first half before Wittenberg closed on a 13-4 run to open up a 36-22 advantage at the break.
The second half was very even, but Wittenberg, which was playing without leading scorer Stephanie Campbell (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern), who had to miss the game due to class commitments, staved off every Earlham charge. The Tigers wound up being outrebounded 35-34 for the game, but an excellent Wittenberg defensive effort forced 28 Quaker turnovers, perhaps the key statistic of the game considering that Earlham actually shot for a better percentage and gathered more rebounds.
Wittenberg was led in scoring by senior guard Kate Rolf (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll) and senior forward Meghan Bruggeman (Middletown, Ohio/Fenwick), both with 12 points. Senior forward Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) and junior guardAmber Bishop (Batavia, Ohio/Batavia) both finished with 10 points.
The game's other storyline involved Rolf, the team's leading scorer and rebounder each of the last two years. Soon to be a four-year letterwinner, Rolf became just the sixth player in Wittenberg history to score 1,000 points in her career, doing it in fine style on a three-point jumper from the corner with 11:21 remaining in the first half. She now has 1,008 points for her career.
The Tigers are back in action this Saturday as they hit the road for a date with Oberlin at 2 p.m. Then they return to Springfield to take on another NCAC foe who is right in the mix of a crowded conference title chase, Kenyon, at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22. Both games are scheduled for broadcast by WULM 1600 AM, with the Kenyon tilt being the front end of a doubleheader with the men's team.