SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The winning formula of strong rebounding, solid defense and balanced scoring was nowhere to be found for the Wittenberg Tigers in a 74-61 loss to Wooster, which snapped a 12-game winning streak.
The loss actually affects little other than the Tigers' momentum heading into the 2010 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament. The Tigers have already clinched a share of the NCAC title and home court advantage for the conference tourney. Overall, Wittenberg is now 16-7, including a 14-1 mark in the conference. Wooster improved to 10-13 overall and 7-7 in the NCAC as the Scots won for just the fifth time in 47 games in the all-time series and just the second time in Springfield.
Wooster had the upper hand through most of the game, building several leads only to have the Tigers roar back to even things up. The Scots led by five points at halftime thanks to an 8-2 run to close the opening frame, but the Tigers scored the first eight points of the second half and seemed to have the momentum. However, Wooster responded with a nine-point run of its own and never looked back, taking advantage of foul difficulties to Wittenberg's leading scorer, senior post Stephanie Boardman (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) to consistently find driving lanes through the paint.
The final shooting percentages pretty much told the story in this one as the Scots hit for 51.9 percent, compared to 31 percent for Wittenberg. Wooster also hit three more three-pointers on four less attempts, and the Scots were an efficient 12-of-15 from the free throw line, compared to 22-of-30 for the Tigers.
The other part of the story was Wooster's Kym Wenz, who bordered on unstoppable with 35 points and nine rebounds. She hit 13-of-18 from the field, including 5-of-8 from three-point range. Wittenberg senior wing Carrie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley)did her best to keep the Tigers close, finishing with 24 points and four rebounds. But no other Tiger finished in double figures.
The final rebounding numbers were shocking considering the fact that the Tigers led the conference in rebound margin coming into the game. Wooster won the battle of the boards 41-33, although Wittenberg junior wing Katherine Hueter (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Darby) did pull down 11 caroms, including seven on the offensive end.
The Tigers can clinch the NCAC regular season title outright with a win on Senior Night against Earlham. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, in Pam Evans Smith Arena.