HIRAM, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers took a while to find their footing, but once they did it was smooth sailing late in the second half in an 80-58 victory over host Hiram on Friday night.
The Tigers improved to 14-6 overall and 10-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, heading into Saturday's crucial match-up at Allegheny. The Gators are just one-half game behind Wittenberg at 10-2 in the NCAC, and they are winners of seven straight conference games, dating back to an early January loss at Wittenberg.
The Tigers won for the 16th straight time against Hiram, including 14 in a row as NCAC foes. Only one of those previous meetings had ended with anything short of a double-digit win for Wittenberg, but for the first 30 minutes of Friday's game, the Tigers found themselves in a tussle. That's about the time that Wittenberg's superior depth took over, wearing down the Terriers, who were beaten by Wittenberg, 74-51, at the HPER Center last month.
Wittenberg faced a four-point deficit less than four minutes into the second half, but the Tigers may have taken a step forward as a team at that point. A 12-point run ensued, capped by five straight points by freshman wing Rachel Dixon, giving the Tigers a lead they would not relinquish.
Wittenberg took control down the stretch, with several statistical categories standing out. The Tigers outscored Hiram 54-15 in bench points, led by 12 points from sophomore post Katie Gregorevich and 10 from junior guard Andrea Hackett. Dixon added nine, also off the bench.
In addition, Wittenberg won the battle of the boards 41-32, including 18 offensive rebounds for the Tigers, and the turnover differential was a whopping 24-12 in favor of Wittenberg. That resulted in a 33-10 advantage for the Tigers in points off turnovers.
Hiram's Cassie Bedard led all scorers with 19 points, to go along with a team-high six rebounds. Michelle Kozempa added 13 points and five boards off the bench and Abbey Gorby chipped in with 10 points and four rebounds. Wittenberg picked up strong games in the post (a combined 15 points, 14 rebounds and seven steals, from junior Kathy Hittle and sophomore Ali Rohlfs. The other key to victory was shooting percentages as the Tigers hit 53 percent in the second half, compared to just 28 percent for the Terriers, who had hit 54 percent in the opening 20 minutes.