Setting the Scene:
The Wittenberg University women's basketball team had one of its best seasons ever in 2002-03. The Tigers posted a winning record for the 14th consecutive season, dating back to 1989-90, by compiling a 24-5 overall mark and a perfect 16-0 mark in the North Coast Athletic Conference.
Wittenberg capped a remarkable season, one that started with five wins in the first nine games, with NCAC regular season and tournament championships, the latter earned with victories over Oberlin, Allegheny and Ohio Wesleyan by an average of more than 40 points, and the program's first appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament since 1998. The Tigers bowed out of the national competition with a 64-57 first-round loss at nationally ranked Baldwin-Wallace on March 5.
Super Seniors:
Wittenberg was paced in 2002-03 by one of the finest senior classes in school history. The team's top four scorers and five of the top seven were seniors, accounting for more than 45 of Wittenberg's 74 points per game. In addition, they had nearly 20 rebounds per outing, more than half the team's per game average. The 2003 senior class was comprised of center Rebecca Meers (Moline, Ill./Moline), guards Kate Rolf (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll) and Stephanie Campbell (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) and forwards Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) and Meghan Bruggeman (Middletown, Ohio/Fenwick). Three of the five won four letters for basketball, and Keller earned eight in her Wittenberg career, including four in volleyball.
Rolf led the way statistically for three straight years. She topped the team in scoring for the third straight year in 2002-03 with an average of 11.3 points per game, and ranked second in rebounding at 4.3 per outing after topping the team each of the previous two years. She also led the team in steals (63), three-point field goals (51), free throw percentage (.813) and defensive rebounds (96). A participant in 108 straight games and a starter for 70 of the last 71, Rolf concluded her career with first-team all-conference honors three straight years.
Campbell, a transfer from Taylor University, finished her final season in the Red & White with averages of 11.1 points and 3.6 rebounds. She led the Tigers with 83 assists and ranked a close second in steals with 62. Campbell started all but five games Wittenberg has played the last three years, including 27 of the 28 in which she played in 2002-03. She was a three-time All-NCAC honoree, once as honorable mention and twice as second-team.
Rolf finished her career with 1,171 career points, good for fourth in school history. She also ranks 11th in career rebounds (455), first in career steals (229) and sixth in career assists (236). Campbell finished with 788 points, which puts her among the top 20 in school history, 332 rebounds, 200 steals, which is No. 5 in school history, and 224 assists, which ranks seventh all-time.
Keller finished her career with 842 career points, placing her 12th in that category in school history. She started at least 12 games every year, including a career-best 19 in 2002-03, and finished her final season with averages of 9.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Keller led the Tigers with a shooting percentage of .539 and was named All-NCAC honorable mention.
Meers started 25 games in 2002-03 and 39 in her career. She contributed 5.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per outing in the most recent season and topped 450 points and 300 rebounds for her career. Bruggeman came on strong in her junior and senior seasons, playing in 55 games the last two seasons and starting 10 times in 2002-03. She averaged 8.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game this year and her career totals increased to 310 points and 199 rebounds.
The senior class compiled a four-year record of 77-30. Wittenberg's win total increased each year and the loss total decreased each year as well. The team's NCAC finish improved each year from a tie for third in 2000 to first in 2003.
Head Coach Pam Smith got her point across during a 24-5 season.
What the Future Holds:
A great senior class departs, but plenty of talent remains, including no less than seven players who have significant varsity experience. Leading the charge will be a five-person junior class, four of whom saw at least 14 minutes per game in 2002-03.
That junior class includes guard Amber Bishop (Batavia, Ohio/Batavia), who posted averages of 8.2 points and 1.9 rebounds off the bench and led the team with 48 percent shooting from three-point range, and forward Haley Warden (Loveland, Ohio/Indian Hill), who made the most of increased playing time in 2002-03 to lead the team in rebounding at 5.2 caroms per outing and also contribute 6.8 points per game.
Rounding things out in the junior class are point guards Christina Fischer (Norwood, Ohio/Cincinnati St. Ursula) and Kari Kitchen (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern), who shared those duties in 2002-03 and finished with 83 assists and 74 turnovers combined, and forward Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood), who missed all but four games due to a knee injury.
The Coach:
Head Coach Pam Smith (Wittenberg, 1982) completed her 17th season at the helm of the women's basketball program at her alma mater. She is 325-133 in her career. Smith has guided the Tigers to eleven 20-win seasons, seven appearances in the NCAA tournament and nine NCAC regular season championships since 1986. Wittenberg has never finished lower than third in an NCAC regular season since joining the league in 1989.
A 1999 Wittenberg Athletics Hall of Honor inductee, Smith was a record-setting forward at Wittenberg during her playing days, a three-time team Most Valuable Player and an Academic All-America selection. The school record-holder for season scoring average, she also serves as the university's associate athletics director and senior women's administrator.