Roundup: Close Games Belie Deceiving Record
The Wittenberg women's basketball team isn't as far away from respectability as its early-season record might suggest, but then again respectability isn't what championship coaches like Pam Smith strive for. With a 3-5 overall record and a mark of 1-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, the Tigers have lost several close games against quality opponents of late, including a five-point setback at Thomas More on Dec. 18.
The Wittenberg women's basketball team isn't as far away from respectability as its early-season record might suggest, but then again respectability isn't what championship coaches like Pam Smith strive for. With a 3-5 overall record and a mark of 1-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, the Tigers have lost several close games against quality opponents of late, including a five-point setback at Thomas More on Dec. 18.
In that game, the Tigers' first game in a week and their first road game in almost a month, the rust showed as host Thomas More rallied from a 13-point first half deficit and captured a 78-73 decision over Wittenberg. The Tigers' five losses have all come by less than 14 points, and four of them have come by 10 points or less.
Even with a foul disparity that led to 12 more Thomas More points from the free throw line, Wittenberg led almost the entire game. Thomas More closed with a 13-7 run in the final four minutes to steal the victory.
The Tigers put three players in double figures offensively, led by sophomore post Rachel Clark-Haggy (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) and her career-high 15 points, senior guard Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson) and her season-best 14 tallies and junior guard Carrie Jones (Greenville, Ohio/Greenville) and her 10 points. Sophomore post Kathy Hittle (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) added seven points and a team-high seven rebounds.
On Dec. 11, the Tigers got a shot in the arm with a 67-43 victory over the visiting Oberlin Yeowomen, with eight players in tow. Fifteen Tiger player saw action and 13 of them scored.
Wittenberg scored the game's first eight points as the Yeowomen were held scoreless for the first 13:39. The lead expanded to 32-15 by halftime and the closest Oberlin got in the final 20 minutes was 14 points. Schmid led Wittenberg with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, and she added four steals and three rebounds.Clark-Haggy was solid with eight points and a game-high seven rebounds and freshman guard Ellie Stonecash (Springboro, Ohio/Middletown Fenwick) scored eight points and grabbed four boards.
In a battle of two 2004 NCAA Division III Tournament teams decimated by graduation losses, the Tigers came out on top with a 72-41 victory over Bethany on Dec. 7.
Wittenberg held a 13-point halftime advantage and slowly built on it to blow the game open in the final 20 minutes. All 16 players in uniform for the Tigers saw at least four minutes of action in the game, and 15 of them scored. Hittle had an outstanding game with 14 points and seven rebounds in just 17 minutes of action, and Clark-Haggy provided a spark in her first starting assignment with four points, six rebounds and four steals. Also of note was the play of freshman post Katie Gregorevich (Northfield, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit), who finished with eight points and 10 boards in just 14 minutes off the bench.
Rounding things out, the Tigers dug themselves a big hole they couldn't climb out of in a 63-59 NCAC loss on Dec. 4 that ended a 36-game conference regular season win streak. The loss was the Tigers' first in conference regular season action since Feb. 2, 2002, at Allegheny, and it was the Tigers' first home defeat in NCAC play since Feb. 2, 2001, against Allegheny. The loss also was Wittenberg's first against the Big Red since 2001 and a 73-62 loss in Granville.
Coming off a pair of home defeats against national powerhouses Baldwin-Wallace and Capital the previous week, the Tigers found themselves in a big first-half hole for the third straight game and even a rally over the final 10 minutes couldn't save them.
The game may have been decided in the first in the first four minutes of the second half as Denison outscored Wittenberg 9-2 to run the lead to 12 points and eventually to as much as 16. The Tigers whittled the lead down to 62-59 with 1:43 remaining on a lay-up by Gregorevich, but Wittenberg missed its final four shots to allow the Big Red to escape with the narrow victory.
Wittenberg got a strong game from Gregorevich, who finished with 17 points and five rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench. Sophomore guard Megan Miller (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) added nine points, Hittle chipped in with seven points and seven rebounds and Schmid, playing her first game of the season after helping the Tiger volleyball team to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals, added nine rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench.
The Tigers return to action on Dec. 29-30 when they host the Kiwanis-Wittenberg Holiday Classic. They will be joined by Centre College of Danville, Ky., Buffalo State College and Hanover (Ind.) College.