Tigers Look to Re-Load in 2025-26 Season
SPRINGFIELD, OH — Wittenberg’s Women's Basketball is looking for another big season with a youthful, new-look roster after coming up a mere two points shy of winning the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament championship game last year.
The Tigers, picked to finish fourth in the NCAC in the 2025-26 Preseason Coaches' Poll released on Thursday, Oct. 30, return four players who played significant minutes a year ago, including Karsen Karlblom (Crystal Lake, IL / Prairie Ridge), Molly Mossing (Cedarville, OH / Cedarville), Madi Barnett (Cincinnati, OH / Kings), and Karley Moore (Tipp City, OH / Bethel).
Led by fourth-year Head Coach Melissa Kolbe, who guided the Tigers to back-to-back NCAC regular season championships in her first two seasons at her alma mater, Wittenberg’s 2025-26 team will lean heavily on young players with just two seniors on the roster in Karlblom and Cadence Boyd (Cincinnati, OH / Monroe).
Karlblom, the only returning Tiger to be named All-NCAC last season, is a senior wing who played in all 28 games a year ago, starting all but one game. She ranked second on the team in points per game, averaging 11.6, and second in rebounds per game at 4.7. Karlblom also added herself to the Wittenberg record books by shooting 49.3% from three-point range.
Mossing, a sophomore wing, played in 25 games off the bench last season, compiling 74 points, 48 rebounds, nine assists, 14 steals, and three blocks, while Moore, a junior wing, played in all 28 games, tallying 138 points, 77 rebounds, 15 assists, 19 steals, and nine blocks. Barnett, a junior point guard, also played in all 28 games, scoring 169 points, 47 rebounds, 73 assists, and 34 steals. Moore and Barnett combined to start five games during the 2024-25 season.
The Tigers open the 2025-26 season with back-to-back games at Wilmington against Christopher Newport and the host team on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 8-9, at 1 and 3 p.m., respectively. The Tigers' home opener won’t be until Dec. 6 at 1 p.m. when Ohio Northern comes to town. The first conference matchup will take place on Thursday, Dec. 4, at Kenyon. Game time is 7 p.m.
Wittenberg finished 18-10 overall and 8-6 in the NCAC a year ago, ending the regular season in a three-way tie for third place in the conference standings. In the NCAC Tournament, the Tigers defeated Oberlin in the quarterfinals, 60-42, then won a close game against the NCAC No. 1 seed, Ohio Wesleyan, 56-54, before losing another close battle to DePauw in the conference championship, 46-44.
Written By: Cindy Holbrook