Tigers Go Cold In Loss At Denison

GRANVILLE, Ohio - One long cold stretch on offense is something a team can overcome. But not one in each half.

The Wittenberg Tigers went through a nine-minute stretch with just two points in the first half and a five-minute stretch with just two points in the second half, leading to a 63-44 loss at Denison.

The loss, coming just two weeks after Wittenberg claimed an 82-80 overtime win over the Big Red in Springfield, dropped the Tigers to 9-6 overall and 6-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Tigers remain atop the conference standings by one game. Denison, which defeated Wittenberg three times during the 2004-05 season, improved to 13-4 overall and 5-3 in the NCAC.

Wittenberg held a 10-6 lead midway through the first half before Denison went on a 20-2 run that spanned more than nine minutes. The Big Red went into the locker room holding a 36-20 advantage and never looked back. The Tigers closed to within 10 points a little more than three minutes into the second half on a three-pointer by freshman wing Rachel Dixon, but Wittenberg's offense was nowhere to be found for another long stretch, allowing the Big Red to push the lead out to 57-38 by the 4:19 mark of the second half.

The Tigers got respectable games from its top three post players, junior Kathy Hittle and sophomores Ali Rohlfs and Katie Gregorevich, but not much else went right. Rohlfs led with a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Hittle added nine points and seven boards and Gregorevich chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench. The rest of the team managed just 16 points as the Tigers finished with 32 percent shooting from the field.

Denison showed great balance, putting 10 of the 11 players who appeared in the game into the scoring column. The Big Red were paced by Carolyn Simpson with 13 points and Kristen Sheffield with 10 points and nine rebounds.