Wittenberg Clinches NCAC Championship With Win Over Wooster

WOOSTER, Ohio - The Wittenberg University women's basketball team won again Saturday, by a bunch. The Tigers clinched a third straight North Coast Athletic Conference regular season championship with a 75-43 pasting of the homestanding College of Wooster Fighting Scots Saturday at Timken Gymnasium.

The win was Wittenberg's 14th straight in the 2003-04 season and improved the Tigers to 18-5 overall and 14-0 in the NCAC. It was the Tigers' 34th straight win in NCAC regular season play, dating back more than two years. Wooster lost for the eighth time in the last nine games as the Lady Scots dropped to 4-11 in the NCAC and 10-14 overall.

A frantic-paced first half ended with the Tigers holding a 29-18 lead as the two teams combined for 38 turnovers and just 32 percent shooting from the field. In the second half, Wittenberg pulled away quickly and extended a 17-point lead to 28 midway through the stanza thanks to an 11-0 run. Wooster turned the ball over 30 times in the game, compared to a season-high 23 for the Tigers, and Wittenberg won the rebounding battle 41-30, including a 26-12 advantage in the second half.

Senior forward Haley Warden (Loveland, Ohio/Indian Hill) was the only player on either team to reach double figures in scoring and rebounding, posting her 12th double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Tigers were tremendously balanced, putting 12 of the 15 players who saw action in the scoring column, including junior guard Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson), who finished with nine points and six rebounds, and senior forward Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) with eight points and three boards. Wooster picked up nine points and eight rebounds off the bench from Carly Loehrke.