---

Joyce Dindo

The Wittenberg women's basketball team never quite got untracked offensively in the 2004-05 season, and it finally caught up with the Tigers as their three-year reign atop the North Coast Athletic Conference came to an end with Friday's NCAC Tournament semifinal defeat against Denison.

The Big Red went on to win the title and advance to this week's NCAA Division III Tournament, while Wittenberg concluded the season with a 17-10 overall record after finishing 12-4 in the NCAC regular season and tying with Denison for second place.

After shooting well in their final regular season game, a win at Ohio Wesleyan on Feb. 19, and in their NCAC Tournament quarterfinal win over Wooster on Feb. 22, the Tigers appeared to have some momentum going. However, the Denison did the job defensively, shutting Wittenberg down to the tune of 27 percent shooting from the field, including a 1-of-16 performance from three-point range, in a 56-43 win over the Tigers in a game played at Kenyon.

Several short scoring runs by Denison made the difference in this game, including a 12-6 burst to close the first half and take a commanding 33-24 advantage into the halftime locker room. In the second half, Denison put the game away with a 9-0 run that pushed the lead out to 51-37 with 5:59 remaining.

Shooting percentage was the difference, especially since Wittenberg grabbed six more rebounds and committed one less turnover. The Tigers were harrassed into just 7-of-35 shooting from the field in the second half as no Tiger player with four or more shot attempts in the game finished above 50 percent.

The final numbers showed just one Tiger player in double figures offensively, freshman guard Ellie Stonecash (Springboro, Ohio/Middletown Fenwick) with 11 points in 15 minutes off the bench. Senior guard Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson) added nine points, and junior post Joyce Dindo (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) was the most effective Tiger interior player with four points and a game-high seven rebounds.

This week brought some better news for the Tigers as the 2005 All-NCAC awards were handed out. Sophomore post Kathy Hittle (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville), the team's leader in scoring and rebounding, took second-team honors and Schmid capped her phenomenal collegiate career with honorable mention honors, her first career award in basketball after earning second-team All-America in volleyball following the 2004 season.