WHEATON, Ill. - The Wittenberg women's basketball team concluded their road trip to the annual Beth Baker Classic hosted by Wheaton (IL) with a convincing 89-35 victory over the Aurora Spartans at the King Arena.
The 54-point victory puts the Tigers at 4-0 for the first time since the 2008-09 season, and represents the team's largest margin of victory since a 95-27 win over Allegheny in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) tournament semifinals on Feb. 28, 2003.
Wittenberg's high-powered offense was led by senior Darbie Zirkle (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham), who scored 17 points and added seven steals and three rebounds, while knocking down all eight of her chances at the charity stripe. Not far behind was senior Enri Small (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus School for Girls), chalking up 14 points of her own, shooting a perfect 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and grabbing four boards. The Tigers shot 41 percent from the field, taking an early 41-21 lead into the break at halftime.
Fittingly, Wittenberg's 2-0 record in the Beth Baker Classic earned two spots on the all-tournament team, occupied by Zirkle and Small.
The prodigious Wittenberg offense allowed everyone on the roster to record points. The Tigers' momentum carried into the second half, where they scored 48 points while holding Aurora to 14 over the final 20 minutes.
The bench provided 39 points, led by junior Teddi Tankersley (Springfield, Ohio/Greenon), contributing to the team's 42 percent three-point mark by knocking down two of her three attempts. Matching Tankersley's eight points and Small's perfect three-point shooting was freshman Becca Ziska (Brook Park, Ohio/Berea-Midpark), who went 2-for-2 from beyond the arc with three rebounds.
Leading the team in rebounds was junior Ali Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas), grabbing six boards, four on the offensive end with two more on defense.
The Tigers will return home to take on Otterbein on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 7:30 p.m. for their first NCAC matchup of the season.
Written by: A.J. Meyer '16