Amber Lara
BEREA, Ohio — For the third straight year, the Wittenberg Tigers battled to the end with perennial powerhouse Baldwin-Wallace before coming up just short, this time by a 56-53 score.
The game was the season opener for both teams.
Wittenberg got off to a strong start, jumping out to a 14-5 lead in the first six minutes. However, the Yellow Jackets closed the gap quickly, tying the game at 14-14 at the 11:36 mark and then outscoring the Tigers 17-10 the rest of the way to take a 31-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, Wittenberg chipped away at the lead before finally pulling ahead with 2:37 remaining in the game on a lay-up by junior Kim Replogle (Houston, Ohio/Houston). B-W answered 20 seconds later and held the Tigers scoreless until a lay-up with five seconds left by senior Lyndsey Clark (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh).
The Tigers were paced offensively by senior Sarah Watson (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) with 14 points, while Replogle added 10 off the bench. Also of note, freshman point guard Amber Lara (Oak Park, Ill./River Forest) contributed five points, four assists and two rebounds without a turnover in 30 minutes of action.