GAMBIER, Ohio — The Wittenberg women's basketball team ended the 2007-08 season with all the intensity they poured into the rest of the season. Unfortunately, it did not amount to a win against the last-minute surprise Denison Big Red as the Tigers fell by a score of 66-55 in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament.
The night started well enough, with the Tigers coming back from a five-point deficit to take a one-point lead into the locker room at halftime. But after the intermission it was one problem after the other. Whatever infected Ohio Wesleyan on Friday night to keep their shooting percentage low must have gotten to Wittenberg, too. The team shot 29 percent from the field and went 4-of-17 from beyond the three-point arc.
Amid the problems the team encountered were stellar performances from the younger ranks, who showed that Wittenberg's tradition of success in women's basketball is in safe hands. Sophomore Carrie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley) gave the conference reason to believe the Tigers will be a force to be reckoned with in the future, leading the team with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Fellow second-yearStephanie Boardman (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) followed that up with a 10 point, nine rebound performance. Both Dyer and Boardman earned their way onto the all-tournament team with their success.
Ali Rohlfs (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) had her biggest game in weeks, scoring 12 points and bringing down seven rebounds. For Rohlfs, Katie Gregorevich (Northfield, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit), and Ellie Stonecash (Springboro, Ohio/Middletown Fenwick), this final game marks the end of a fantastic four-year run. Gregorevich etched her name into the record books by becoming a member of the 1,000-point club on Feb. 2, and finished her career with 1,138 points, enough to move her into fifth place on the all-time career scorers list for the Tigers.
The Tigers finish as runners-up in the conference tournament after splitting second place with Denison and Ohio Wesleyan in the regular season. Though it is not first place, it is a wondrous feat when taken into context with the challenges the team faced in the past year. The Tigers lost 17-year head coach and architect of the most dominant NCAC women's basketball program Pam Smith over the summer, and had to adjust to a new coach and a new program in just one semester. Add to that the graduation of 2005-06 conference player of the year Kathy Hittle as part of an accomplished senior class in 2007 and this team had some speed bumps. Fortunately, first-year head coach Sarah Jurewicz was up to the task, and successfully kept the team in contention and advancing one step farther in the conference tournament than last year.
Saturday's game wraps up the 2007-08 season while saying farewell to three loyal Tigers, but welcoming the next set of leaders for the Wittenberg Tigers.
Written by: John Strawn