SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Kenyon Ladies blitzed the Wittenberg Tigers with a hot-shooting second half to pull away for a 71-57 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) victory.
The loss put the Tigers in peril of finishing outside the top four in the NCAC regular season standings for the first time since joining the league in 1989. Wittenberg lost its third game in a row to fall to 11-8 overall and 6-5 in the conference, heading into a crucial weekend homestand against Allegheny and Hiram. Kenyon beat Wittenberg for the second time this season to improve to 9-11 overall and 8-4 in the NCAC.
Things started well enough for the Tigers, who took a 34-33 lead into the locker room at intermission. After leading most of the opening 20 minutes, the Tigers' lead evaporated in the late-going before a lay-up by junior wing Carrie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley) at the buzzer gave Wittenberg its slim margin.
Instead of creating momentum going into the second half, the lay-up pretty much served as Wittenberg's last highlight of the evening. Kenyon scored 20 of the first 27 points of the second half to take a commanding 53-41 lead with 11:30 to go, and the Ladies just poured it on from there, eventually widening the margin to 20 points with 4:10 left.
Kenyon shot 50 percent from the field in the second half, including an unconscious 5-of-6 performance from three-point range. Overall, the Ladies shot 41 percent from the field and 53 percent from long distance. Wittenberg's total from the field was exactly the same (22-of-54), but the Tigers made just three shots from three-point range, two of which came in the final minute. Kenyon added 18-of-26 shooting from the free throw line, compared to 10-of-17 for the Tigers.
Wittenberg turned the ball over 18 times to 11 for Kenyon, while the Tigers narrowly won the rebounding battle, 37-34. Individually, Kenyon got 49 of its 71 points from two players - reserves Suzanne Kahle with 24 points and Morgan Korinek with 25. Combined, they shot 15-of-20 from the field, including a 5-of-6 night from long range for Kahle.
The Tigers got 17 points, four rebounds and three assists from junior postStephanie Boardman (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) and a double-double from Dyer with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore wing Katherine Hueter (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Darby) added nine points and six rebounds.