Tiger's Down Hiram 65-39 in Impressive Fashion

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio—Rebounding and shooting-efficiency were the stories of the night in Springfield, as Wittenberg women's basketball trounced Hiram 65-37. The Tigers got out of the gates in sync Friday night, shooting nearly 90-percent from the field in the opening quarter. Ten different Tigers managed to find their way in the scoring column in the NCAC victory, while the team rebounding efforts set a new season-high in boards. Wittenberg dominated on both sides of the court Friday, putting on a defensive display of high-energy and high-output. The win puts Wittenberg at 6-12 on the season, and 5-6 in NCAC play.

GAME BREAKDOWN

• Wittenberg's defense was the story of the first-quarter, as the Tigers held the Terriers to just 15-percent shooting from the floor.
• At the end of one-quarter of play, Wittenberg found themselves ahead 15-6, going seven of eight from the floor, good enough for 88-percent.
• The second-quarter proved to be an offensive outburst as the score jumped to 29-20 heading into halftime.
• The first-half offense for the Tigers was all about distribution, as eight different Tigers found their way into the scoring column, led by Taylore Bundy (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) and Riley McDonald's (Dexter, Michigan/Dexter) five-points apiece.
• The third-quarter belonged to the Tigers, as Wittenberg ended the quarter with a 49-30 lead.
• Becca Ziska (Brook Park, Ohio/Berea-Midpark) got on track in the third, after netting only two points in the first-half, the sophomore guard went off for seven-points late in the third to extend the Tiger lead.
• Continuing her hot-streak, Ziska put Wittenberg up big in the fourth-quarter, netting a deep three to push the score to 55-32.
• As the Tiger offensive continued to fire on all cylinders, Kelsie Arlin (Farmington, Hills Michigan/Mercy) nailed a jump-shot to receive her first points as a Wittenberg Tiger, pushing the Tiger lead to 65-37.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Wittenberg had ten players in the scoring column Friday night, as Ziska led the charge with 12 points.
• Michelle Brunswick (Middletown, Ohio/Madison) led Wittenberg by pulling down six boards, and dishing out seven assists, while also managing to contribute eight points.
• All night Wittenberg was able to be as efficient as ever, nailing 27 field-goals on 20 assists.

KEY STATS

• The Tigers outrebounded Hiram 46-23 on the night, as 46 rebounds is Wittenberg's new season high.
• For the game, the Tigers shot nearly 51-pecent from the floor, and 46-percent from behind the three-point line.
• Wittenberg led in the game from wire-to-wire, leading by as many as 26 in the NCAC victory.

FROM THE BENCH

• "Rebounding has been our Achilles heel lately…we've been working on rebounding and shooting efficiency and here you go a great example of executing on both of those! I am proud of the girls for plugging away and believing in the process, tonight was great…We saw great energy from everyone that stepped on the floor tonight, starting at the defensive end," said Coach Jurewicz.

UP NEXT

• Wittenberg has a quick turnaround, as the Tigers are back in action tomorrow at home at 4:00p.m. against Allegheny.

Written By: Kuris Duggan