SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers rode a 28-rebound advantage and some clutch shooting down the stretch to a 63-57 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) victory over visiting Hiram.
Wittenberg evened its record to 6-6 overall and remained atop the NCAC with a 4-0 record with the win. The Terriers, who have never beaten Wittenberg since joining the conference in 2000, dropped to 1-11 overall and 0-3 in the NCAC.
The Tigers jumped out to an 18-6 lead less than eight minutes into the game, but the Terriers rallied to pull within one at 23-22 late in the first half. However, Wittenberg ended the half on a 6-0 run to seemingly take control of the game.
Hiram closed the gap quickly in the second half, and the Terriers even pulled ahead briefly on a three-pointer by Brittany Mayle with 10:36 remaining. Junior wing Katherine Hueter (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Darby) tied the game on a three-pointer, and sophomore guard Allie Leopard (Urbana, Ohio/Urbana) broke the tie with a triple at the 9:21 mark.
The Terriers refused to go away, pulling into a tie one last time with 1:22 remaining. However, the Tigers scored the last six points of the game on a short jumper from senior post Stephanie Boardman (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) with 54 seconds remaining and four straight free throws in the final 27 seconds by sophomore postSarah Watson (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson), who also grabbed three defensive rebounds over the 29 seconds.
Watson finished with eight boards to go along with 13 points and three assists in the game. Hueter led both teams with 17 points to go along with nine rebounds, senior wing Carrie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley) added 12 points, seven boards and three assists and Boardman rounded things with nine points and a game-high 11 caroms.
The Tigers, who held a 53-25 rebounding advantage to offset 19 turnovers (compared to seven for Hiram), get right back into action against Allegheny at 2 p.m. Saturday.