HIRAM, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers did the work at the defensive end, holding host Hiram without a three-pointer to pull out a 56-43 victory.
The win kicked off a huge road trip for the Tigers, who moved into sole possession of second place in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) standings. Wittenberg stands 8-3 in the league, one-half game ahead of Oberlin heading into another game on the visitors' bench against Allegheny at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, in Meadville, Pa.
First-place is nearly out of reach for the Tigers, but the No. 2 seed in the NCAC Tournament is very much in play for Wittenberg, which trails nationally ranked DePauw by 3.5 games. Avenging last month's loss to Allegheny would put the Tigers in the driver's seat for the runner-up position in the final league standings.
Against Hiram, the Tigers led from start to finish, but poor free throw shooting by the visiting team kept the Terriers within striking distance until the closing moments. Wittenberg jumped out to leads of 13-2 in the first five minutes at 31-18 by halftime before the Tigers made just 10-of-27 freebies over the final 20 minutes as Hiram closed to within seven points on multiple occasions.
Senior Katelyn Haralamos (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) hit 5-of-8 free throws over the final 2:42 to help the Tigers pull away. More importantly, Wittenberg held Hiram without a field goal over the final 4:53 after the Terriers had closed to within 47-40.
Haralamos finished the game with nine points, eight rebounds and four assists. Senior Darbie Zirkle (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham) led both teams with 15 points to go along with eight rebounds and five steals, while senior Heather Schroeder (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) added 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, and sophomore Michelle Brunswick (Middletown, Ohio/Madison) chipped in with eight points and 10 rebounds.
As a team, Wittenberg shot 34 percent from the field, including a 1-of-14 showing from three-point range. The Tigers managed just 21-of-43 from the free throw line in the game.
The game was won at the other end of the floor as Hiram was limited to 25.7 percent shooting, including an 0-of-17 performance from long distance. The Terriers are the third team in the 2014-15 season to shoot 26 percent or lower against Wittenberg.
Written By: Ryan Maurer