The Wittenberg Tiger women's basketball team has taken control of its own destiny. At the halfway point of the 2002-03 season, the Tigers own a commanding two-game advantage in the race for the North Coast Athletic Conference regular season championship and the privilege of hosting the tournament championship Feb. 25-March 1.
Last week, the Tigers took two more steps toward defending their regular season conference crown with victories over Kenyon and Wooster. Both came at home in the friendly confines of the HPER Center, and they sewed up a perfect 8-0 record in the first round.
First up was a Wednesday night victory over the Kenyon Ladies, a physical, defensive-oriented team. The resourceful Tigers overcame a game challenge from Kenyon to claim a 65-57 win.
The difference in the game were 30 Kenyon turnovers by Wittenberg's relentless full-court press. Wittenberg got out to an early lead but couldn't shake the Ladies. Kenyon made a three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to take a 28-27 lead into the locker room, but Wittenberg came out firing to start the second 20 minutes. Kenyon scratched back into a tie at 52-52 with 6:17 remaining in the game but missed a free throw and Wittenberg responded with an 8-3 run to open the lead back up.
The Tigers were paced offensively by senior forward Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw), who scored 18 points. Senior guards Kate Rolf (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll) and Stephanie Campbell (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) added 12 points apiece in the winning effort.
In the second game of the week, the Tigers faced a 15-4 first half deficit against the Wooster Scots. But Wittenberg responded like champions, scoring 18 straight points and eventually eased their way to a 36-25 halftime lead. While Wooster threatened at several points in the final 20 minutes, the game was never really in doubt as the Tigers then coasted home to a 76-56 victory.
The Tigers got season-highs on the offensive end from Keller and senior center Rebecca Meers (Moline, Ill./Moline). Keller finished with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and 5-of-6 from the foul line. Meers added 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Campbell added 10 points, four assists and six steals. For the game, Wittenberg shot 50 percent from the field as a team and forced 32 Wooster turnovers, while committing just 20 of their own.
The Tigers have a few days to rest before opening up the second half of the conference season against two-time defending NCAC tournament champion Ohio Wesleyan Saturday in Delaware. The Bishops are two games behind Wittenberg in the current standings and lost 71-62 to the Tigers in Springfield earlier this season.