Wittenberg Wraps Up Regular Season With Key Win Over Ohio Wesleyan

DELAWARE, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers continued their recent mastery of one-time nemesis Ohio Wesleyan Saturday, claiming a 67-55 road victory over the Battling Bishops. It was Wittenberg's eighth straight victory over Ohio Wesleyan, dating back to an 81-75 overtime win in the HPER Center in the 2002 North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament championship game.

The more important win streak that was extended was the current one the Tigers are riding as they captured a fourth straight win to close the 2004-05 regular season and finish 16-9 overall and 12-4 in the NCAC. Winners of six of their last seven games, the Tigers earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAC Tournament, which opens at four home sites on Tuesday. Wittenberg finished in a second-place tie with Denison, but the Big Red are the higher seed thanks to a pair of wins over the Tigers.

Ohio Wesleyan, which finished the regular season in a fourth-place tie with Allegheny, dropped to 17-8 overall and 10-6 in the NCAC. The Bishops will play Allegheny on Tuesday, while Wittenberg will host Wooster, the sixth seed. The Tigers have hosted an NCAC Tournament quarterfinal round game in all 16 seasons since entering the conference in the 1989-90 season.

The two offensive catalysts for Wittenberg were sophomore guard Megan Miller and freshman post Ali Rohlfs. Miller hit four three-pointers and 7-of-8 free throws en route to a game- and career-high 21 points. Rohlfs was the high scorer in the first half and she went on to put up 14 points for the game. In addition, sophomore post Kathy Hittle finished with solid totals of nine points and 11 rebounds, the latter being a game-high.

Wittenberg jumped out to a 10-3 lead early in the game as Rohlfs scored eight of the Tigers' first 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers. The lead swelled to 35-20 by halftime, and the Battling Bishops never got closer than seven points the rest of the way. A key to the Tigers' win was another sterling defensive effort against the NCAC's all-time leading scorer, Kelly Heil, who was limited to 11 points. The other key was a phenomenal 24-rebound advantage that Wittenberg enjoyed. The Tigers finished with 19 offensive caroms, compared to 23 total rebounds for the host team.