SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - When the chips were down, the Wittenberg Tigers clamped down on defense and came away with an exciting 57-54 victory over visiting Ohio Wesleyan.
The win, earned the hard way after the Tigers outscored OWU 13-2 in the final 8:39 of the game, kept Wittenberg one game ahead of second-place Allegheny in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings with a 7-1 record. The Tigers stand at 10-6 overall heading into Wednesday non-conference finale against Thomas More, while Ohio Wesleyan dropped into a three-way tie for third place with Denison and Kenyon at 5-3 in the NCAC. The Battling Bishops are 9-8 overall.
The first half featured nine lead changes and four ties as the two teams went back and forth. A speedy tempo to the game was much to the smaller Bishops' liking as their defensive pressure caused Wittenberg problems and led to 50 percent shooting from the floor. By halftime, the Bishops held a 32-28 lead.
They maintained that lead through much of the second half, and with 8:39 remaining the Bishops appeared to be in control with a 52-44 lead. Wittenberg responded with a solid defensive effort and a 13-2 burst, kickstarted by sophomore post Ali Rohlfs, who stepped out and nailed a three-pointer with 7:16 remaining. A jumper by sophomore post Katie Gregorevich and a jumper by junior post Kathy Hittle closed the gap to one point at the 4:49 mark before OWU got its final points of the game at the 4:04 mark on a lay-up by Emily Lloyd.
Hittle answered that with a jumper, and then after missing the front end of a one-and-one, Hittle put the Tigers in front with two free throws at the 1:36 mark. Junior wing Rachel Clark-Haggy added two free throws at 1:17 for the final difference and the Tigers withstood two three-pointers in the final 17 seconds to secure the victory.
For the game, Hittle led all players with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Rohlfs added a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds and Clark-Haggy was solid with eight points and three boards. The Tigers held a commanding 42-27 advantage in rebounds, and the Bishops compounded their problems with 27 turnovers, 15 of them coming in the second half.
Ohio Wesleyan got four three-pointers and a total of 14 points from Steffi Graf to lead the way. Lloyd added seven points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals.