COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers battled back from a 12-point deficit near the start of the game to take a six-point lead on nationally ranked Capital midway through the second half. The youthful Tigers couldn't hang on, however, falling 60-56.
The loss was Wittenberg's second in a row on the road against a nationally ranked Ohio Athletic Conference foe, dropping the Tigers to 2-2 on the young season. Capital remained perfect at 4-0.
After falling behind 14-2 at the 13:11 mark of the first half, the Tigers pulled to within seven points at the end of the first 20 minutes, capped by a four-point rally in the closing minute on baskets by junior guard Gina Carney and senior guard Brittany Landreth. Then in the second half, Wittenberg came out strong, scoring 12 straight points, capped by a three-pointer by junior wing Megan Miller.
The Wittenberg lead reached six points at the 13:14 mark of the second half, but the Tigers couldn't sustain the momentum. Capital re-took the lead with a 9-0 run and then held off several charges through the rest of the second half.
The game was as even statistically as it was on the scoreboard. Wittenberg shot 39 percent from the field to Capital's 42 percent, with the difference being one more made field goal for the Crusaders and one more miss for the Tigers. The rebounding battle was even at 33 apiece, but Wittenberg committed 23 costly turnovers, compared to 17 for the Crusaders. That gave Capital the extra opportunities to overcome a 4-1 Tiger advantage in three-pointers.
Individually, the Tigers got a fourth consecutive tremendous performance from junior post Kathy Hittle, who went for 16 points and nine rebounds, her first game with less than a double-double. Sophomore post Ali Rohlfs came off the bench to contribute 10 points and eight rebounds in 26 productive minutes and Carney had the best game of her career, pouring in career highs of 11 points (on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 from the line), two rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes.
Capital put three players in double figures offensively, led by Jennifer Lilly with 18 points. Sara Heitkamp added 13 points and five steals.