Tigers Hold Off Capital To Start 2014 Season

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - It took some time for the Wittenberg Tigers to find their shooting stroke. But once they did, the Tigers stunned visiting Capital with a three-point shooting clinic in a 70-67 season-opening victory.

Wittenberg hit 9-of-13 shots from three-point range in the game, including a perfect 5-of-5 in the second half, to overcome the preseason Ohio Athletic Conference favorites, who held a 12-point first half lead. The Tigers responded by building a 12-point advantage of their own early in the second half before overcoming some shaky free throw shooting down the stretch to hold on for the win.

The most important three-pointer of the game was provided by senior Enri Small (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus School for Girls), who drilled a triple with 3:38 remaining to break a 56-56 tie. Her clutch basket stopped an 8-0 run by Capital and led to six straight points for the Tigers, who were picked to finish fifth in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) preseason poll.

Wittenberg closed the game by making 8-of-10 shots from the free throw line after missing the front-end of three one-and-one opportunities during Capital's game-tying burst. The Crusaders responded with nine points in the final 44 seconds, but it wasn't enough.

The Tigers finished the game with a shooting percentage of 45.8 overall but a blistering 69.2 percent from long distance. From the free throw line, Wittenberg managed just 17-of-29 shooting, compared to a paltry 7-of-21 for the Crusaders, who hit 40.9 percent from the field overall and 6-of-17 from three-point range.

Individually, Wittenberg was paced by senior Katelyn Haralamos (Maineville, Ohio/Kings), who poured in 23 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor, including a perfect 5-of-5 on three-pointers, and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. Small added 16 points and senior Darbie Zirkle (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham) contributed a career-high 14 points to go along with a team-high six rebounds.

Written By: Ryan Maurer