Sarah Watson
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — For the first time since 2004, the Wittenberg women's basketball team celebrated a championship in their mid-season home tournament after a hard-fought 62-48 victory over Wilmington in the final game of the 2011 Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic.
The Tigers leveled their record at 5-5 on the season and earned their first win in three tries against Ohio Athletic Conference competition in the 2011-12 season. The Zimmerman title was Wittenberg's 11th in 21 years but their first since the Tigers defeated Hanover 66-60 in the 2004 championship game.
Both teams were ice-cold from the field throughout the game, but the Tigers made the most of their opportunities at the free throw line, hitting 27-of-32 shots from the charity stripe, including 16-of-20 in the second half alone. With Wilmington battling to get back in the game in the late going, Wittenberg scored its last 13 points on free throws covering the final four minutes.
The Tigers led from start to finish, taking a 7-0 lead in the first three minutes and stretching it to 31-17 by halftime. The Quakers could get no closer than nine points in the second half as they followed up a 23 percent shooting performance in the opening 20 minutes with a 29 percent shooting performance over the final 20 minutes.
Senior Sarah Watson (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) earned Tournament MVP honors after pouring in 14 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Lyndsey Clark (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) led the Tigers with 15 points and also added seven rebounds to earn a spot on the all-tournament team, where she was joined by freshmanKatelyn Haralamos (Maineville, Ohio/Kings), who added 12 points, including a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe.
Wilmington, which fell to 8-4 on the season, was led by Brianna Peters with 11 points and four rebounds and Courtney Tucker with three points and 11 boards. LeAnn Topp earned a spot on the all-tournament team after finishing with eight points and nine rebounds.