Wittenberg Overcomes Slow Start to Advance Past Wooster

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers have reached the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals in each of their 16 years in the league, and after a slow start against the College of Wooster Fighting Scots the Tigers rallied to advance to that familiar position again in 2005 with a 73-51 victory.

Wittenberg, which won for the seventh time in the last eight games, improved to 17-9 overall after finishing 12-4 in the NCAC regular season, good for a second-place tie with Denison. The Big Red, 20 points better than seventh-seeded Oberlin in the quarterfinals, ranks as the higher seed in Friday's NCAC Tournament semifinal match-up, which will be hosted by top-seeded Kenyon. The Tigers and Big Red will tip off at 5:30 p.m., with the winner advancing to Saturday's championship game at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

First things first, however, and that starts with a victory that appeared to be anything but a sure thing midway through the first half. Trailing 21-13 to the sixth-seeded Scots, Wittenberg went on a 24-6 run over the final 11 minutes of the first half to check into the locker room with a 10-point halftime advantage. In the second half, Wooster never got the lead back under 10 points, and a 10-0 run that spanned six minutes expanded the Wittenberg advantage from 43-33 to 53-33 and effectively ended the game.

The Tigers got 21 points from sophomore guard Megan Miller, matching her career-high established on Saturday in the regular season finale at Ohio Wesleyan. That led all scorers in the game. Also turning in solid statistical performances for Wittenberg were freshman post Ali Rohlfs with 10 points and eight rebounds, sophomore post Kathy Hittle with nine points and eight boards and freshman guard Ellie Stonecash with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting in just 10 minutes off the bench.

Wooster picked up 12 points apiece from post players Michelle Hall and Carly Loehrke to take team scoring honors. Fellow post player Alexis Louttit added 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds off the bench for the Scots, who finished the 2004-05 season with a 12-14 overall record after finishing 8-8 and in sixth place in the NCAC.

Wittenberg and Denison have met twice in 2004-05 and the Big Red have emerged victorious both times. On Dec. 1, the Tigers dropped a 63-59 decision in Springfield and on Jan. 19, the Big Red captured a 52-44 victory. Wittenberg has won each of the last two NCAC Tournament titles, both at the HPER Center.