SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers advanced to the championship game of the 2009 Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic with a workmanlike 54-36 victory over visiting Grove City College.
The Tigers limited Grove City to 26 percent shooting - including 0-of-14 from three-point range - to even their record at 4-4 and advance to the title game against Case Western Reserve at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 30. Grove City dropped to 4-5 on the season and will now play in the consolation game at noon against Wilmington.
Wittenberg started fast, ripping off the first nine points of the game while limiting Grove City to just one shot in the first four minutes. The two teams basically played to a stalemate the rest of the first half, with the Tigers taking a 26-14 lead into the locker room.
Wittenberg opened the second half on another run, scoring the first eight points to open up a 20-point cushion. Grove City finally scored at the 13:51 mark, but Wittenberg pushed the lead all the way out to 52-21 with 7:52 left before emptying the bench.
The Tigers shot 41 percent from the field and held a 44-36 rebounding advantage. Senior post Stephanie Boardman (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) led with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while senior wing Carrie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley) added 13 points and six rebounds. Also of note was the play of sophomore guard Allie Leopard (Urbana, Ohio/Urbana), who came off the bench to contribute five points, two assists and two steals. Combined with starting point guard Elise Jenkins (Elida, Ohio/Elida), who finished with two points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals, the Tigers got a combined 41 minutes with just one turnover from the position.
Grove City was paced offensively by Leah Gibson with nine points. Christine Slater led the Wolverines with eight rebounds, although she finished with just two points on 1-of-13 shooting after entering the game with a 16 points per game average.