SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers took another step toward reclaiming the top spot in the North Coast Athletic Conference on Wednesday night with a 77-58 victory over visiting Earlham.
The Tigers are now tantalizingly close to a fourth NCAC regular season title in the last five years after winning for the 11th time in the last 12 games. Wittenberg improved to 16-6 overall, but more importantly the Tigers are now 12-1 in the NCAC, standing two games ahead of second-place Allegheny. Wittenberg holds the tiebreaker on the Gators after recording a pair of wins against them in the regular season.
The win over Earlham, which dropped to 4-19 overall and 3-10 in the NCAC, was earned the hard way as the Tigers were pushed a bit unexpectedly. Coming off a gut-check week that included a home victory over defending regular season champion Kenyon on Tuesday and a road trip to Hiram and Allegheny, a letdown could have been expected. What championship caliber teams do is find ways to win on nights they aren't at their best, and that's what Wittenberg did.
The Tigers did most of their damage in the post, as usual. Wittenberg outscored Earlham, which trailed only 37-33 at halftime, by a whopping 46-18 margin in the paint, and the Tigers controlled the boards to the tune of 41-29. Among that number was a 19-8 Wittenberg advantage in offensive rebounds, leading to 19 second-chance points for the Tigers.
The key offensive player for a second straight game was junior wing Rachel Clark-Haggy, who bettered her career high with 20 points. That went along with 19 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. She scored six of the nine points in a key first-half run. After Wittenberg sprinted out to a 10-0 lead to start the game, Earlham came all the way back to take a 24-23 lead, but Clark-Haggy's handiwork keyed a burst that allowed the Tigers to take a four-point lead in the locker room. In the second half, the Tigers didn't pull away until the end, but the lead was at least nine points most of the way.
Another outstanding performance was turned in by sophomore post Katie Gregorevich, who finished with 19 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Gregorevich and Clark-Haggy combined to make 16-of-21 shots from the field in the game, in addition to 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Sophomore post Ali Rohlfs added 11 points and four rebounds and junior post Kathy Hittle rounded out the spectacular front-court night with eight points and six boards. Junior wing Megan Miller added 10 points and three rebounds in 19 minutes.