CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. - Time and again, the Wittenberg Tigers rallied from significant deficits mounted by one of the top-ranked teams in all of NCAA Division III women's basketball. Time and again, the ninth-ranked Thomas More College Saints had the answers in a deceiving 70-55 victory over the visiting Tigers.
The loss dropped Wittenberg to 3-4 overall, heading into a 10-day holiday break. The Tigers return to action against Grove City in the first round of the 2009 Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic on their home floor Dec. 29. Thomas More is now 8-0 on the season after recording its seventh double-digit victory of the season.
Thomas More jumped out to a 12-point lead less than seven minutes into the game, and the Saints' pressure defense threatened to put the game out of reach before halftime. But the Tigers re-gained their composure and went on a 12-4 run to end the half and trail just 31-27 at the intermission.
On two different occasions, Wittenberg pulled within two points in the second half, the last time coming at the 12:12 mark on a lay-up by sophomore Lauren Cassel (Columbus, Ohio/Dublin Coffman). That was answered by a four-point run by the Saints, and the Tigers were unable to keep pace from that point, in part thanks to just 3-of-11 shooting from the free throw line, including three missed front ends of one-and-one opportunities. For the game, Wittenberg shot just 8-of-21 (38 percent) from the charity stripe.
Unfortunately, the final tale of the tape shows that the free throw shooting differential accounted for much of the final 15-point margin. Wittenberg shot 37 percent from the field, compared to 39 percent for Thomas More, and both teams hit 37.5 percent from three point range. The Tigers won the rebounding battle 45-41, although they committed one more turnover in the game.
Thomas More hit six more three-pointers and five more free throws in the game, led by Chelsea Tolliver with 25 points to lead three Saints in double figures. Wittenberg had just one player break the 10-point barrier as senior Stephanie Boardman (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) led the Tigers with 11 points and both teams with 10 rebounds.
Numerous other Tiger players put together balanced stats sheets, including Cassell with six points and two assists off the bench, and sophomore Lyndsey Clark (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) with five points and a blocked shot in 10 outstanding minutes off the bench. Sophomore Sarah Watson (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) was also solid with eight points, seven rebounds and three steals before fouling out late in the game.