MEADVILLE, Pa. — Wittenberg Women's Basketball Head Coach Sarah Jurewicz had been waiting all season for a performance like this. The timing couldn't have been better for the Tigers, who sprinted past host Allegheny 82-66 to reach the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament semifinals.

Wittenberg improved to 14-11 overall after finishing fifth in the NCAC regular season title chase with a record of 9-7. Allegheny, which lost for the second time in three meetings against the Tigers in 2011-12, saw its season end with records of 15-11 overall and 10-6 in the conference, good for fourth place in the standings.

Plagued by slow starts all season, the Tigers put together a strong opening half and never looked back. Wittenberg never trailed in the game, building a 41-30 lead by the intermission before pushing the advantage to as many as 22 points in the second half.

The Tigers did the job at both ends of the court, starting with a 48 percent shooting performance. Just eight of Wittenberg's 71 shots came from behind the three-point arc, with the Tigers showing phenomenal efficiency, hitting 6-of-8 in the game. Just as importantly, the Tigers outrebounded Allegheny 45-25 and limited the Gators to just one offensive board in the entire game.

Four Tigers scored in double figures, led by junior Kim Replogle (Houston, Ohio/Houston). She poured in 19 points and nine rebounds in 23 outstanding minutes off the bench.

Senior Sarah Watson (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) added 17 points and seven rebounds, while senior Lyndsey Clark (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) was right behind with 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. FreshmanEnri Small (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus School for Girls) also came up big, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists.

The win moved the Tigers into the NCAC Tournament semifinals, setting up a date with fourth-ranked DePauw at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24. The winner of that game will square off with the winner of the other semifinal between second-seeded Denison and third-seeded Kenyon at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25. All three games will take place on top-seeded DePauw's home floor.