Tigers Finish Off Perfect NCAC Season With Tournament Title

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Perfection. It is what everyone strives for, but few achieve. In the North Coast Athletic Conference the last two years, the Wittenberg University women's basketball team has been nothing short of perfect, and the Tigers capped things with a 66-53 over the visiting Allegheny College Gators.

The win was Wittenberg's 19th in a row and it finished off another amazing run through the NCAC. The Tigers went 16-0 in the NCAC regular season for a second straight season and captured the NCAC Tournament for a second straight year, beating every opponent by at least 13 points in tournament action during that span. Wittenberg earned the NCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament for a second straight year and the seventh time in school history with the win, which moved the Tigers to 23-5 overall on the season.

As usual, it was a trio of seniors who spearheaded things for the Tigers, who advanced to the title game with a 76-60 win over Ohio Wesleyan in the semifinals on Friday night. Tournament MVP Haley Warden (Loveland, Ohio/Indian Hill) was simply tremendous once again, turning in her second straight double-double and her 15th of the season. She finished with 14 points and 17 rebounds, including nine on the offensive end. She also added four steals and one assist. All-Tournament team selection Amber Bishop (Batavia, Ohio/Batavia) was clutch as well, hitting 7-of-8 free throws en route to a game-high 20 points. She added five rebounds and two assists. All-Tournament team selection Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) chipped in with 11 points and nine rebounds after dropping 18 points in Friday's win.

Allegheny led the game just once, at 4-2, but that doesn't mean the Gators were without their chances, especially late in the game as both teams went ice-cold from the field. After Wittenberg stretched the lead out to 35-20 at halftime, thanks to a 17-4 run over the final 5:38 of the first half, the Gators clawed their way back into it in the second half. The lead was just four points at 50-46 after Jessica Kankoski hit 1-of-2 free throws at the 5:16 mark, due largely to Wittenberg's five-minute scoreless stretch. Amazingly, the two teams combined for just six field goals in the final 10 minutes of the game, with all the rest of the scoring coming on foul shots. Allegheny managed just 6-of-10 free throws during that time, however, while Wittenberg was 14-of-18 in the final 10 minutes.

For the game, neither team shot the ball well, finishing with shooting percentages of 36 percent for Wittenberg and 37 percent for the Gators. Allegheny managed just 2-of-14 from three-point range, while the Tigers were 4-of-12. Along with clutch free throw shooting, the most telling statistic in Wittenberg's favor was rebounding - a whopping 47-29 advantage for the three-time defending NCAC regular season champions.

Allegheny was led by NCAC All-Tournament team selection Meredith McDonough, who finished with 11 points and five rebounds before fouling out late in the game. Kristen Lyzen and Kankoski finished with 10 points each.