DELAWARE, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers jumped out to an early lead in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament quarterfinals, but they couldn't hold on as the No. 4 seeded Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops pulled out a 67-61 victory.
The win moved OWU into the NCAC Tournament semifinals, while the Tigers were defeated prior to the semifinal round for the first time since entering the NCAC in 1989. Still, Wittenberg's streak of winning seasons was extended to 20 in a row as the Tigers finished 14-12 overall.
The Tigers jumped out to a 40-23 lead by halftime after a dominating first half, but their lead was erased within 11 minutes of the second half after the Battling Bishops scored the first 10 points and simply took control of the game. A layup by OWU's Pam Quigney at the 9:29 mark of the second half gave OWU their first lead of the game at 45-44 and the Tigers never recovered.
After falling behind by as many as seven points, the Tigers battled back to within two on a three-pointer by senior post Rachel Dixon (West Liberty, Ohio/Salem) at the 1:05 mark. However, OWU scored the last four points of the game to secure the win against the fifth-seeded Tigers.
After scorching the nets at a 63 percent shooting clip in the first half, the Tiger offense stagnated over the final 20 minutes. After making just 7-of-30 shots in the second half, Wittenberg finished with a 42 percent performance, compared to 44 for OWU. The Tigers committed a debilitating 20 turnovers, compared to 14 for the Bishops, but Wittenberg did pull down seven more rebounds, including 15 at the offensive end.
Individually, Dixon put together a fine performance in her final appearance in the Red & White, pouring in 16 points to go along with six rebounds. Junior wing Carrie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley) added 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, while junior post Stephanie Boardman (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley)chipped in with 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.