Like the Tiger men's basketball team, the women seem to be hitting their stride at just the right time, reeling off seven wins in their last eight games, including six straight in the NCAC. As a result, the Tigers, the defending conference regular season champions, have a commanding two-game advantage in the NCAC standings as the season heads toward the stretch run.
On an individual basis, the big news was made by senior guard Kate Rolf (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll), who scored her 1,000th career point in the Jan. 15 win over Earlham. She became just the sixth player to reach the 1,000-point plateau. On her current pace, Rolf will likely work her way into the top four in school history in scoring. The top spot is held by Sarah Jurewicz '98 with 1,297 points.
Since the last report, Wittenberg rallied for a solid 76-70 win at Thomas More on Dec. 20 as Rolf poured in a season-high 25 points and junior guard Amber Bishop (Batavia, Ohio/Batavia) chipped in with a season high of her own, 17 points. That win was followed 10 days later by a disappointing 73-66 loss at nationally ranked Wilmington, the preseason Ohio Athletic Conference favorite.
The NCAC portion of the 2002-03 campaign opened for the Tigers on Jan. 3 at Hiram, and Wittenberg won handily, 91-42. All 15 players in uniform scored in the game, and two freshmen, guard Carrie Jones (Greenville, Ohio/Greenville) and forward Joyce Dindo (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit), finished with career highs in points at 12 and 10 respectively. The next day at Allegheny, Wittenberg won convincingly again as all 15 players scored at least one point and four players finished in double figures for points, led by senior forward Meghan Bruggeman (Middletown, Ohio/Fenwick) with 13.
The next four games were a huge stretch of the Tigers' season and may have started the necessary momentum for a second consecutive conference crown. Wittenberg defeated two-time defending NCAC Tournament champion Ohio Wesleyan 71-62 on Jan. 8 as senior forward Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) showed the way with a season-high 18 points.
The next night out, the Tigers overwhelmed another title contender, taking out Denison on the road by a 75-61 count behind Bruggeman's 16 points and 15 points from junior forward Haley Warden (Loveland, Ohio/Indian Hill). On Jan. 15, Wittenberg took the measure of a third straight NCAC contender, defeating much-improved Earlham 65-55 without leading scorer Stephanie Campbell (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern), who missed the game because of class commitments. Balance was the key without her as four starters finished in double figures, led by Rolf with 12 points as she topped the 1,000-point plateau. Rounding things out, Keller and Bruggeman each finished with 15 points at Oberlin on Saturday as the Tigers improved to 6-0 in the conference with an 81-64 win.
NCAC action continues this week with a pair of home dates. The Wednesday night game against Kenyon will be broadcast by Time Warner Cable at 9 p.m. Wednesday and 8 p.m. on Saturday in the Dayton/Springfield area. Subscribers are encouraged to check their local listings for the channel in their area. Then on Saturday, the Tigers host Wooster.