OBERLIN, Ohio - Delayed a day due to a snowstorm, the Wittenberg Tigers still managed to take care of business, capturing a 67-55 road win over the Oberlin Yeowomen to wrap up sole possession of second place in the final North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season standings.
More significantly, the Tigers reached the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2003-04 season, improving to 20-6 overall to go along with a 12-4 mark in the NCAC. As the No. 2 seed, Wittenberg will host Kenyon at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, in Pam Evans Smith Arena in an NCAC Tournament quarterfinal round game.
The key to earning a season sweep of Oberlin was a 20-2 run midway through the first half that turned a 16-11 deficit into a commanding 31-18 lead for the Tigers. By halftime, the lead was 15 points, and the Yeowomen never managed to cut the lead to single digits the rest of the way.
Wittenberg won with ball security, committing just 12 turnovers, compared to a whopping 25 for Oberlin. The Tigers shot 45 percent from the field while taking nine more shots in the game.
All four senior starters reached double figures offensively, led by Katelyn Haralamos (Maineville, Ohio/Kings), who scored 21 points to push her career total to 1,052, which is good for 10th on Wittenberg's career scoring list. Haralamos also contributed six rebounds and two assists.
Heather Schroeder (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) added 13 points, three rebounds and three assists, Darbie Zirkle (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham) finished with 12 points, three assists and six steals, and Enri Small (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus School for Girls) chipped in with 10 points and two rebounds. Zirkle now has 139 steals in her Tiger career, just seven away from a spot in Wittenberg's career top 10 list.
Written By: Ryan Maurer