Wittenberg Women Beat Oberlin With Big Second Half

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg women's basketball team battled through a tight first half to pull away from the visiting Oberlin Yeowomen, 67-47, on Saturday at the HPER Center. The Tigers did it by getting contributions from a variety of players in an outstanding second half.

The win, Wittenberg's 10th straight in the 2003-04 season and 30th straight in North Coast Athletic Conference regular season play, improved the Tigers to 14-5 overall and 10-0 in the NCAC. Oberlin fell to 6-13 and 2-8.

The lead changed hands eight times in the first half until the Tigers scored the final five points before the intermission - a three-pointer by senior guard Kari Kitchen (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) with 1:58 remaining and a layup by junior guard Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson) just before the buzzer. Wittenberg then took control in the second half, outscoring the visitors 37-22, thanks in large part to 50 percent shooting from the field.

The Tigers shot 44 percent for the game, compared to 33 percent for the Yeowomen, and both teams struggled with their ballhandling with 23 Oberlin turnovers and 21 Wittenberg turnovers. Wittenberg won the battle of the boards 44-36.

Senior forward Haley Warden (Loveland, Ohio/Indian Hill) led all scorers with 13 points, followed by Schmid, who nearly had her first career double-double as she finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Also of note were the performances by senior guard Amber Bishop (Batavia, Ohio/Batavia) with eight points and six assists and senior guard Christina Fischer (Norwood, Ohio/Cincinnati St. Ursula) with five points and five assists.

The win keeps Wittenberg two games ahead of Allegheny in the NCAC regular season race and three ahead of Ohio Wesleyan. The Tigers travel to OWU on Tuesday and Allegheny on Friday with a chance to cement a third consecutive conference championship.