SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Balance was the key for the Wittenberg Tigers as they took an early lead on visiting Oberlin and made it stand up in a 68-45 North Coast Athletic Conference victory.
After the Yeomen opened the game with a basket, the Tigers took the lead on a three-pointer by senior wing Gina Carney (Lexington, Ky./Catholic) and never looked back. Carney hit her first four shots from the field, including three from beyond the arc, to get the Tiger offense kickstarted.
The lead mushroomed to 39-23 by halftime and to as many as 28 points midway through the final 20 minutes. All 12 Wittenberg players in uniform scored at least two points and played at least six minutes in the game, led by Carney with 14 points in 27 productive minutes.
The Tigers shot 45 percent from the field, including a 9-of-19 performance from three-point range. After five of their first six shots from long range, however, Wittenberg cooled off considerably. That opened things up for junior post Katie Gregorevich (Northfield, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit), who hit for 12 points and seven rebounds.
Also of note, senior guard Andrea Hackett (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central) added eight points and four assists and senior post Kathy Hittle (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) had her usual stellar all-around performance, finishing with seven points, nine rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal.
The win moved the Tigers to 9-8 overall and 6-3 in the NCAC, good for third place in the updated standings, one-half game behind second-place Ohio Wesleyan. Oberlin, which got 20 points and six rebounds from Jessie Oram, fell to 5-13 overall and 1-9 in the conference. The Yeowomen shot a respectable 47 percent for the game, but they were outrebounded 33-25 and committed nine more turnovers than Wittenberg.