Wittenberg defeats Oberlin 81-64 to remain undefeated in NCAC

OBERLIN, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers, the defending North Coast Athletic Conference regular season champions, started fast and finished strong in defeating the Oberlin Yeowomen 81-64 in a road game on Saturday. The win improved the Tigers to 11-4 overall and 6-0 in the NCAC, while Oberlin fell to 4-10 and 1-6.

The win was another important one for the Tigers, who now have a commanding two-game edge in the NCAC standings as the conference race nears the midway point. Wittenberg trailed just once in the game, at 4-2 in the first two minutes, before opening up and maintaining a double-digit advantage for most of the afternoon.

The key difference in this game was rebounding. Wittenberg, a perimeter-oriented, up-tempo team by nature, went to work on the glass and came away with a stunning 61-20 advantage in the rebounding category. Two Tiger players finished in double digits in rebounds, junior forward Haley Warden (Loveland, Ohio/Indian Hill) and senior guard Kate Rolf (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll). Warden hauled in 15 rebounds (including 12 offensive), a season-high for any Tiger player, and scored eight points in 22 productive minutes off the bench. Rolf, who crossed the 1,000-point plateau on Wednesday, finished with eight points, five assists, three steals and 10 rebounds in a fine all-around game. Of Wittenberg 61 rebounds, a phenomenal 31 came at the offensive end.

Senior forwards Meghan Bruggeman (Middletown, Ohio/Fenwick) and Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) each finished with 15 points to lead the Tigers' offense. Four players finished with eight points, including the aforementioned pair. All 15 players in uniform played at least two minutes for the Tigers.

Wittenberg is back in action at the HPER Center on Wednesday and Saturday, squaring off with defensive-minded Kenyon and much-improved Wooster respectively. Both games can be heard on WULM 160 AM in Springfield and via the Wittenberg Web site. The Kenyon game is the opener of a doubleheader with the NCAC-leading Wittenberg men's team and will be broadcast on tape delay by Time Warner Cable in the Dayton area.