Tiger Women’s Basketball Rolls to 82-53 Victory In Holiday Classic Opener

SPRINGFIELD, OH – Leading from start to finish, Wittenberg Women's Basketball rolled to an 82-53 victory Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 18, to pick up its seventh win in a row, this time over visiting Bryant-Stratton University-Cleveland at Pam Evans Smith Arena, part of the Health, Wellness & Athletics Complex, in first-round play of the Wittenberg Holiday Classic.

The Tigers, averaging 75 points per game so far this season, emptied out its bench with lots of players getting in some minutes during the big win. They were also tough on the boards having a considerable height advantage over Bryant-Stratton.

Even though they never trailed, the first quarter was an ugly one for the Tigers, who outscored the shorthanded Bobcats just 18-12. But they woke up in the second quarter, turning up the heat and extending their lead to 20 at the half, 43-23, behind the three-point shooting of Karsen Karlblom (Crystal Lake, IL/Prairie Ridge), who was 3-for-5 from long distance, and Payton Cronen (Louisville, KY/Assumption), who was 3-for-4 on three-pointers for nine points.

Four Tigers scored in double digits with Kelsey Ragan (Whitehouse, OH / Anthony Wayne) leading the team with 14 points, Karley Moore (Tipp City, OH / Bethel) with 12, and Karlblom and Jazmyn Gaines-Burns (Bladensburg, MD/Elizabeth Seton) each with 11. Karlblom also pulled down a team-high six rebounds and added three steals to tie Ragan for the team lead. Taryn Cash (Cincinnati, OH/Princeton) led the team in assists with six.

Team totals for Witt, which improves to 7-1, included going 32-of-72 from the field (44.4%), 8-for-31 from three-point range (25.8%), and 10-of-15 (66.7%) from the free-throw line. The Tigers had 37 rebounds, 23 assists, 30 points off the Bobcats' 22 turnovers, 17 second-chance points, and 40 points in the paint. They also had 42 bench points and 27 fastbreak points.

Bryant-Stratton, which drops to 3-9 overall, was led by Ryann Greenfield's 21 points and Mia Richardson's 18. The Bobcats went 23-of-63 from the field, 3-of-14 from three-point land, and 4-of-10 from the charity stripe.

In the other Holiday Classic matchup, Hope College defeated Muskingum 83-49. Wittenberg will take on Hope at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 19, while Bryant-Stratton will play Muskingum beginning at noon.