RICHMOND, Ind. - The Wittenberg Tigers found themselves in a spot they didn't expect - tied up at 24 with last-place and winless Earlham four minutes into the second half. Then the Tigers turned on the afterburners, scoring the next six points and 44 of the last 61 to claim a deceiving 68-41 victory over the Quakers on their home floor.
The win kept Wittenberg tied for second place in the North Coast Athletic Conference at 11-4 and 15-9 overall, and it guaranteed a 16th consecutive winning season for the program. Earlham fell to 3-20 overall and 0-15 in the NCAC.
The Tigers took a 20-15 lead by halftime, but Earlham opened the final 20 minutes on a 9-4 run, capped by a Guin Summerton three-point play at the 15:41 mark. But sophomore post Kathy Hittle scored on a lay-up about 30 seconds later that sparked a 13-2 run that started the Tigers on toward victory. Wittenberg closed the game on a 13-1 run as numerous reserves saw extensive playing time and made the most of it.
Wittenberg shot 50 percent from the field, although that includes a paltry 2-of-12 from three-point range. However, Earlham was held to 34 percent shooting, was outrebounded 37-33 and committed seven more turnovers than the visiting Tigers.
Three Tiger players stood out at the offensive end, led by what can only be hoped will be a breakout performance from freshman guard Ellie Stonecash, who finished with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. It was a career-high for Stonecash, who has struggled to find the range of late. Hittle finished with 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds, although she missed 7-of-11 from the charity stripe. And rounding things out, senior guard Emilie Schmid scored nine of her 11 points in the second half and added four boards.
Wittenberg Uses Big Second Half To Defeat Earlham
Posted: Feb 16, 2005