SPRINGFIELD (12/04)- The Wittenberg University women's basketball team opened 2001-02 North Coast Athletic Conference action Tuesday night at the HPER Center with a convincing 71-55 victory over Earlham College.

It was the Tigers' second victory over Earlham already this season. The two teams met in the consolation game of the Kalamazoo Tip-Off Tournament on Nov. 17 and Wittenberg prevailed in that one as well.

Wittenberg, which improved to 3-2 overall, got 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench from junior center Rebecca Meers (Moline, Ill./Moline) and 10 points and seven boards from junior guard Stephanie Campbell (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern). They led a balanced offensive attack in which 12 different players made their way into the scoring column and 11 of them pulled down at least one rebound as well.

The Tigers pulled away early, eventually opening up a 35-18 margin by halftime. From there, Earlham actually outscored the Tigers by a point but never really threatened to take the lead. Earlham's sophomore all-conference forward Lindsey Chappell led all scorers with 24 points and 13 rebounds.

The Tigers return to action with an important road contest Saturday at Denison. The tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m., but Wittenberg fans who can't make the trip to Granville can catch the game on tape delay, immediately following the conclusion of the 3 p.m. men's game at Allegheny. They can also tune in on the Internet by logging onto Wittenberg's online broadcast site.