Second-Half Rally By Baldwin-Wallace Buries Tigers In Season Opener
The new-look Wittenberg Tigers opened the 2010-11 season with a strong half of basketball, but they were overtaken by an early second-half blitz by visiting perennial powerhouse Baldwin-Wallace in a 70-52 loss.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The new-look Wittenberg Tigers opened the 2010-11 season with a strong half of basketball, but they were overtaken by an early second-half blitz by visiting perennial powerhouse Baldwin-Wallace in a 70-52 loss.
The Tigers, with just two starters and a total of five letterwinners back in uniform this year, led 32-26 at halftime despite a slow start. After scoring just one point in the first seven minutes of the game, Wittenberg tightened up its defense and found the handle on offense behind junior post Sarah Watson (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) and her seven points and seven rebounds and sophomore wing Ashanta Robinson (Yellow Springs, Ohio/Yellow Springs), who scored five of the Tigers' last seven points before intermission.
But after senior wing Katherine Hueter (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Darby) opened the second-half scoring with a fast break lay-up, the game turned in the veteran Yellow Jackets' favor quickly. B-W responded with an 11-0 run over a span of just three minutes. The two teams traded baskets for several minutes before Baldwin-Wallace heated up again, slowly stretching a 39-38 lead at the 15:23 mark into a 53-43 bulge with 7:38 left on the clock. The Tigers were unable to make any ground in the late-going, in large part thanks to B-W's 60 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes.
Robinson led the Tigers with 18 points in 21 quality minutes off the bench. Watson finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Hueter added seven points and eight boards, and junior Lyndsey Clark (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh)contributed six points and eight rebounds in her first career starting assignment.
As a team, Wittenberg shot 36 percent from the field but made just 2-of-10 shots from three-point range. B-W used a 19-11 second-half rebounding advantage to win the overall battle of the boards, 41-37.
For the Tigers, the loss kicked off a busy opening week. After a weekend trip to Adrian, Mich., for a tip-off tournament, Wittenberg returns home for another battle against one of the best teams in the Ohio Athletic Conference, Capital, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 23.