GRANVILLE, Ohio — Slow starts have repeatedly hurt the Wittenberg Tigers on the road in 2011-12. The script played out once again at Denison in a 70-57 loss to the host Big Red.

Wittenberg was unable to dig out of a 23-4 hole against Denison, the defending North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season and tournament champion, and dropped to 11-10 overall and 7-6 in the conference. The loss snapped a season-best three-game winning streak for the Tigers, who return home to face Wooster on Senior Recognition Day on Feb. 11.

Wittenberg trailed Denison, which improved to 15-7 overall and 8-5 in the NCAC, 40-18 by halftime. The Tigers won the second half by nine points, but the hole was much too deep against the veteran Big Red, who lost 59-57 in Springfield last month.

Wittenberg shot just 34 percent from the field, compared to 53 percent for Denison, which also won the rebounding battle 35-31. The loss dropped the Tigers back into fifth place in the NCAC standings, a key position considering the top four teams receive home games in the NCAC Tournament quarterfinals.

The bright spot in the game occurred when senior Sarah Watson (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) reached 1,000 career points. She came into the game with 993 and with 11 points in the game she became just the eighth player in program history to surpass 1,000 in her career.

Watson added five rebounds and three steals in 32 quality minutes. She was joined in double figures offensively by freshman Enri Small (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus School For Girls) with 13 points and seven rebounds and freshman Katelyn Haralamos (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) with 12 points, two rebounds and two steals.