Roundup: Streaks Stand Intact, NCAC Title In Hand
The Wittenberg women's basketball team has moved to the head of the class in the North Coast Athletic Conference for a third straight year, and last week the Tigers put an exclamation point on that idea in the last week with wins over Wooster and Earlham.
The Wittenberg women's basketball team has moved to the head of the class in the North Coast Athletic Conference for a third straight year, and last week the Tigers put an exclamation point on that idea in the last week with wins over Wooster and Earlham. The Tigers improved to 19-5 overall and 15-0 in the NCAC with the two wins while extending their win streaks to 15 straight in the 2003-04 season and 35 consecutive in conference regular season action, dating back to Feb. 2, 2002, at Allegheny.
The Tigers won by a bunch both times in the last week. On Saturday at Wooster, Wittenberg clinched a third straight NCAC regular season championship with a 75-43 pasting of Lady Scots.
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.
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.
On Wednesday night, Wittenberg blitzed the visiting Earlham College Quakers 29-2 to start the game and ran away for a 76-44 victory.
Wittenberg scored the game's first 15 points, thanks in part to Warden's hot play, as she had eight of those points. The lead was extended to 29-2 at the 12:21 mark of the first half before the Quakers finally woke up and went on an 11-2 run of their own. But the damage was done, and Wittenberg worked the lead back to 24 points by halftime and up to as much as 36 in an anticlimactic second half.
The statistical reasons were many for the lopsided score. Wittenberg shot 48 percent from the field, including 57 percent in the first half, compared to 29 percent by the Quakers. The Tigers attempted 19 more free throws in the game, outrebounded their visitors by 12 and forced 27 Earlham turnovers.
Individually, Warden led the Tigers with 16 points, four rebounds and five steals in just 18 minutes of action. Freshman guard Megan Miller (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) bombed away in her 13 minutes, scoring a career-high 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 shooting from the free throw line. And Woessner chipped in with 13 points and a game-high eight boards.
Wittenberg looks to close out a second straight perfect NCAC regular season and the fourth in school history with a win Saturday against preseason favorite Ohio Wesleyan at the HPER Center. It's Jam the Gym! day at the HPER Center, with spirit groups competing for prizes.