SPRINGFIELD, Ohio—Wittenberg faced off against the Tiger's from DePauw University Wednesday night. Despite controlling the tempo from the tip, Wittenberg fell victim to an early run by DePauw's offense. All night Wittenberg played stifling defense, holding DePauw to their third-lowest point total all season but in the end, Wittenberg fell to the visiting Tigers 50-40. Michelle Brunswick (Middletown, Madison/Middletown) led Wittenberg with ten points, five steals, and four rebounds on the night. The loss moves the Tigers to 6-14 on the season, and 5-8 in NCAC play.

GAME BREAKDOWN

• The first-quarter started out as a dominant Wittenberg attack, but after going on a 5-0 run to get things going, Wittenberg allowed DePauw to go on a 15-7 run ending in the start of the second-quarter.
• DePauw did not score their first bucket until halfway through the first-quarter, as the Wittenberg defense held the visiting Tigers in check early.
• Regaining momentum, Wittenberg was able to force DePauw to take a 30-second timeout at the 4:20 mark in the second-quarter, after a Liz Tolliver (Eaton, Ohio/Eaton) jump shot brought Wittenberg within four points, 17-13.
• At the half, Wittenberg came clawing back to cut the score to 26-23 after yet another clutch Brunswick jump shot.
• The third-quarter remained close early, but Wittenberg trailed 43-29 at the intermission after scoring six-points in the quarter.
• Taylore Bundy (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) got things going for Wittenberg in the fourth, swishing a well-contested three-pointer right out of the gates, cutting the lead to 43-32.
• After back-to-back clutch defensive stands, the Wittenberg Tigers offense was able to work the ball around to a wide-open Becca Ziska (Brook Park, Ohio/Berea-Midpark), who nailed a three to cut the score to 45-37.
• The last five minutes proved to be a defensive battle, as the Tigers of Wittenberg trailed 47-38 with 37 seconds remaining in regulation.
• At the final buzzer, Wittenberg dropped the NCAC matchup 50-40.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Wittenberg battled on the boards, but only managed five offensive rebounds to DePauw's 15.
• For the night, Wittenberg managed 30 rebounds to DePauw's 41.
• Offensively, Wittenberg was able to shoot 17 of 48 on nine assists Wednesday night.

KEY STATS

• Brunswick, Haley Dannemiller, (Cleves, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) and Ali Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) all registered four rebounds apiece.
• The game featured 19 steals and 41 turnovers resulting in 36 total points for both teams combined.

FROM THE BENCH

• "We struggled scoring and rebounding, but DePauw struggled scoring too, as we have done some really great things since the last time we played them…Overall we fought really hard and I am very proud of the progress we've shown and the mindset we have as a team right now," said Coach Jurewicz.

UP NEXT

• The Tigers return to action February 13 as they hit the road and travel to the College of Wooster. Tip-off is set for 2:00 PM.