SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg University ran the gauntlet, or at least the closest thing to it in the North Coast Athletic Conference in 2002-03, and came through with a perfect 3-0 record, closing out another title contender, Earlham College, by a 65-55 count at home in the HPER Center. The win improved Wittenberg to 10-4 overall and, more importantly, 5-0 in the NCAC, while Earlham fell to 9-4 overall and 4-2 in the conference.

Wittenberg jumped out to an 11-2 lead five minutes into the game and held at least a five-point advantage throughout the rest of the game. The Quakers closed to within 23-18 at the 5:37 mark of the first half before Wittenberg closed on a 13-4 run to open up a 36-22 advantage at the break.

The second half was very even, but Wittenberg, which was playing without leading scorer Stephanie Campbell (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern), who had to miss the game due to class commitments, staved off every Earlham charge. The Tigers wound up being outrebounded 35-34 for the game, but an excellent Wittenberg defensive effort forced 28 Quaker turnovers, perhaps the key statistic of the game considering that Earlham actually shot for a better percentage and gathered more rebounds.

Wittenberg was led in scoring by senior guard Kate Rolf (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll) and senior forward Meghan Bruggeman (Middletown, Ohio/Fenwick), both with 12 points. Senior forward Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) and junior guardAmber Bishop (Batavia, Ohio/Batavia) both finished with 10 points.

The game's other storyline involved Rolf, the team's leading scorer and rebounder each of the last two years. Soon to be a four-year letterwinner, Rolf became just the sixth player in Wittenberg history to score 1,000 points in her career, doing it in fine style on a three-point jumper from the corner with 11:21 remaining in the first half. She now has 1,008 points for her career.

The Tigers are back in action this Saturday as they hit the road for a date with Oberlin at 2 p.m. Then they return to Springfield to take on another NCAC foe who is right in the mix of a crowded conference title chase, Kenyon, at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22. Both games are scheduled for broadcast by WULM 1600 AM, with the Kenyon tilt being the front end of a doubleheader with the men's team.