Wittenberg Falls At Denison In Key NCAC Game
Hoping to get back into the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season title chase, the Wittenberg Tigers instead found themselves on the very short end of a 74-51 decision at Denison to fall three games behind the unbeaten Big Red in the standings.
GRANVILLE, Ohio — Hoping to get back into the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season title chase, the Wittenberg Tigers instead found themselves on the very short end of a 74-51 decision at Denison to fall three games behind the unbeaten Big Red in the standings.
The loss dropped Wittenberg to 11-6 overall and 6-3 in the NCAC, while Denison continued its hot play with its eighth straight win to improve to 11-6 overall and 9-0 in the conference. Not only do the Big Red, who have won four straight NCAC Tournament titles, own a three-game lead on Wittenberg, but they have won both games between the two teams this year.
After Wittenberg scored the first two points of the game, the Big Red gave a hint of what was to come with a 16-3 burst over the next five minutes. After the Tigers rallied back to tie the game at 25-25 with 2:49 remaining in the first half, the Big Red scored seven of the last nine points to lead 32-25 at intermission.
The second half was all Denison, starting with an 11-2 run over the first four minutes. The Tigers hit just 31 percent of their shots from the field over the final 20 minutes, compared with Denison's blistering 17-of-31 performance. For the game, Wittenberg shot 36 percent, including 4-of-18 from three-point range. Just as importantly, the Tigers were just 5-of-11 from the free throw line, and they committed 21 turnovers to Denison's 15.
Offensively, Wittenberg was paced by junior post Stephanie Boardman (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. She added two rebounds and three assists to her stats line. Junior wing Carrie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley) was next with eight points and five rebounds, while sophomore wing Katherine Hueter (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Darby) chipped in with seven points and a team-high seven rebounds. Also of note, freshman guard Allie Leopard (Urbana, Ohio/Urbana) came off the bench to contribute three points, five rebounds (including four offensive) and four assists.
The Tigers hit the road again Saturday for a game at Wooster. Start time is 2 p.m.