HOLLAND, Mich. - The Wittenberg Tigers trailed all but 60 seconds in the second semifinal game of the Hope College Subway Shootout, but those 60 seconds included the final 20, which is all that really matters in the end. The Tigers advanced to the title game on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against unbeaten and nationally ranked Hope College with a 51-49 escape against Savannah College of Art and Design.
The Tigers have been led all season by the outstanding all-around play of senior forward Haley Warden (Loveland, Ohio/Indian Hill), who added 16 points and 10 rebounds to the party Friday to run her season-opening string of double-doubles to five in the first six games of the 2003 season. Warden scored four of her team's final six points, including the game-winning jumper with 20 seconds left.
Warden was hardly the lone hero on this night for the Tigers, although they were in short supply for a team that managed just 30 percent shooting from the field. Sophomore post Joyce Dindo (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) came off the bench to contribute a career-high 10 points in 14 minutes of action. Included in those 10 points were two scored at the 1:03 mark of the second half that tied the game and set the stage for Warden's game-winner 40 seconds later.
The Tigers improved to 4-2 overall while SCAD dropped to 1-5. Wittenberg will have a rematch tomorrow with Hope, which upended the Tigers in the Kiwanis-Wittenberg Tip-Off Classic title game on Nov. 22 by a 77-74 score.