Wittenberg Falls To Thomas More In Home Opener
On an emotional evening in newly renamed Pam Evans Smith Arena, the Wittenberg Tigers opened the home portion of the 2007-08 season with an inspired performance. In the end, it wasn't quite enough to overcome eighth-ranked Thomas More in a 56-53 loss.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — On an emotional evening in newly renamed Pam Evans Smith Arena, the Wittenberg Tigers opened the home portion of the 2007-08 season with an inspired performance. In the end, it wasn't quite enough to overcome eighth-ranked Thomas More in a 56-53 loss.
Ending a season-opening four-game road trip that spanned nearly a month, the Tigers fell to a deceiving 2-3 overall. All three losses have come against teams that have been ranked in the national top 25, including 9-0 Thomas More.
The Tigers trailed by as many as seven points in the first half before closing to within 35-32 by the halftime buzzer. After a slow start to the second half, sophomore guard Elise Jenkins (Elida, Ohio/Elida) completed a three-point play at the 12:40 mark to give Wittenberg its first lead. The lead seesawed back and forth from that point on, leading up to heartbreaking final minute.
Wittenberg held a 51-48 lead after two free throws by sophomore guard Victoria Leali (Jackson, Ohio/Jackson) with 3:54 left in the game. A three-pointer by Thomas More's Jayme Thiem with 1:29 tied it. Wittenberg senior post Katie Gregorevich (Northfield, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) put the Tigers back ahead with a lay-up at 1:05, but the Saints rallied again, this time with a lay-up by Nicole Dickman 16 seconds left.
After Wittenberg missed a shot, Dickman was fouled with 24 seconds left and she made both shots. At the other end of the court, two Wittenberg free throws were off target with three seconds remaining and Thomas More added one more shot from the charity stripe with two seconds left to seal it.
The Tigers did many things well enough to win the game as they grabbed 45 rebounds to 38 for Thomas More. Neither team shot the ball very well as the Saints finished at 36 percent from the field, compared to 33 percent for Wittenberg. Both teams committed 21 turnovers in the game.
Individually, the Tigers were led by Gregorevich with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Hueter played a fine game to finish with 11 rebounds and three assists against no turnovers. Thomas More was led by Thiem with game highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds.