SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers overcame a slow start to pull away from the visiting Hiram Terriers, 74-56, in Saturday afternoon North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) action.
The win was Wittenberg's second in less than 24 hours and moved the Tigers to 4-5 overall. More importantly, Wittenberg is now 3-0 in the NCAC, heading into a pair of road games next week against Earlham and Oberlin. Hiram dropped to 3-9 overall and 1-3 in the conference after splitting their road trip with a win over Earlham on Friday and today's loss.
The first half was a struggle for the Tigers as they shot 43 percent but were outrebounded by four and went into the locker room at halftime trailing 31-30. But Wittenberg scored the first six points of the second half and slowly pulled away. The Tigers ended the game on a 9-0 run to account for the misleading 18-point final margin.
The Tigers exhibited outstanding balance for a second straight game, putting four players in double figures in points and spreading 38 rebounds throughout the lineup. Senior post Katie Gregorevich (Northfield, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) led the way with the first double-double of her 2007-08 season. Her 17 points, along with nine scored on Friday against Allegheny, brought her career total to 862, moving her past Pam Evans Smith for 10th place on the program's career scoring list. She also added season-bests of six assists and 10 rebounds.
Freshman guard Katherine Hueter (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Darby) scored a career-high 16 points and added five rebounds, while sophomore wing Carrie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley) chipped in 14 points, doubling her career high established one day earlier. Sophomore post Stephanie Boardman (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) added 12 points and five boards off the bench.
Hiram was led by Brittany Mayle, who poured in a game-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting before leaving the game with an injury late in the second half. Stephanie Zunic added 10 points.