The Wittenberg University women’s basketball team completed the 2000-01 season with an 18-8 overall record and an 11-5 mark in the North Coast Athletic Conference.
Wittenberg battled No. 1 seed and host Ohio Wesleyan, but came out on the short end of a 75-66 score in the semifinals of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament at Branch Rickey Arena in Delaware, Ohio on Feb. 23.
Wittenberg struggled for a half before recovering for an 84-70 win over visiting Wooster in the regular season finale on Saturday. The Tigers, who have won five straight games, finished in a tie for third with Earlham, but was seeded No. 4 in the NCAC Tournament based on tiebreaker criteria. In 12 seasons in the NCAC, Wittenberg has never finished worse than a tie for third in a regular season.
Wittenberg enters the final week of the regular season in control of its own destiny. The Tigers are tied for fourth with Denison in the NCAC and hosts the Big Red on Wednesday. The winner will be the No. 4 seed and host the No. 5 seed in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament on Feb. 20. At the same time, both Wittenberg and Denison will watch to see if third-place Earlham (10-5 in the NCAC) slips up in its final game at Oberlin on Saturday. Wittenberg will finish the regular season by hosting Wooster on Saturday.
Wittenberg split a pair of home games within 24 hours last weekend, losing 68-60 to NCAC leader Allegheny on Friday, Feb. 2 and coasting to a 74-43 win over Hiram on Saturday, Feb. 3. The Tigers remain in fifth place in the conference, one-half game behind fourth-place Denison and one and a half games in back of third-place Earlham.
Wittenberg went through another up and down week at home, losing to Earlham 70-57 (Jan. 24) and defeating Oberlin 62-49 (Jan. 27). The team now stands fifth in the NCAC, one-half game behind fourth-place Earlham and one full game behind third-place Denison.
The Wittenberg University Tigers have had their ups and downs in recent weeks, but like the men's team the hope is that they will hit their stride soon.
The Wittenberg University Tigers return
to action in a big way this weekend as they play
host to a strong field of teams in the Kiwanis-
Wittenberg Holiday Classic at the HPER Center
in Springfield, Ohio.
The Tigers entered the week with a full head of steam, having defeated nationally ranked Capital by a point on Nov. 21. Wittenberg rallied for the win by scoring five points in the final 2.3 seconds.
The Wittenberg University women’s basketball team is also expected to assume its customary position at or near the top of the NCAC in 2000-2001. The Tigers were chosen second by the media and third by the coaches during the media day festivities on Wednesday. Perennial power Ohio Wesleyan was projected to top the conference in both polls, while Denison was tabbed to finish second in the coaches poll.