Red-Hot Bishops Claim Key NCAC Victory Over Tigers

DELAWARE, Ohio - A trio of Tigers scored in double figures, but Ohio Wesleyan shot 56 percent in the second half to hold off Wittenberg for a 78-69 victory.

The win earned Ohio Wesleyan a split in the season series with Wittenberg and moved the Battling Bishops one-half game ahead of the Tigers in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) standings at 6-4. Wittenberg fell to 5-4, heading into another road game against a league contender, Denison, on Saturday, Feb. 1.

The two teams battled to a 10-10 draw through the game's first five minutes before the Battling Bishops went on an 11-1 run to break the game open. After trailing 39-32 at halftime, the Tigers rallied to within 43-40 on a three-pointer by senior Amber Rice (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) at the 16:42 mark of the second half.

However, Ohio Wesleyan responded with a nine-point burst to take control again. The Tigers were unable to draw any closer than six points the rest of the way.

Rice finished with 20 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting performance from the field, in addition to 3-of-3 from the free throw line. Junior Katelyn Haralamos (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) added 19 points and junior Heather Schroeder (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) contributed 12 points and three assists for the Tigers, who shot 44 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle 35-30.