Springfield, Ohio – The Wittenberg women's basketball team dropped an overtime decision at home to the Ladies of Kenyon College 61-52 on Wednesday evening. The Tigers came out firing, shooting 56% from the field after the first ten minutes of action. Wittenberg was led by junior Alex Kiess with her second straight 15+ point effort, with 17 points on the night. The Tigers trailed by one at the half 29-28, as Kiess posted 10 of her 17 through the first 20 minutes of action on four of seven from the floor. Kiess added four rebounds an assist and a steal to her final total on the night. 

HOW IT HAPPENED: The Tigers were minutes away from handing Kenyon their first NCAC loss of the season when freshman Kristie Kalis put Wittenberg up one 45-44. With under five minutes to go Kiess would fire up a three-pointer coming out of a timeout extending the Tiger lead to four. The Ladies tenacity down the stretch, would prove too much for the Tigers. Kenyon would tie the game up at 49-49 to force OT, before outscoring the Tigers 12-3 in the final five minutes. Wittenberg came out of the gate to go on a 5-0 scoring run through the first four minutes of the game. The Tigers outscored Kenyon in the first quarter 21-12, with freshman Delaney Williams scoring six of her 13 total points in the opening minutes of the game. Junior Sydney Mayle added eight points and eight rebounds on the evening, along with three steals and two assists.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: After shooting an identical 36% from the field in the first half, the Tigers finished by making 19-59 of their attempts from the floor. Wittenberg was able to control the inside game, outscoring the Ladies 20-16 in the paint. The Tigers continue to get support from their bench, winning that final stat category by a margin of 11 to 3.

UP NEXT: Wittenberg will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 6 when they host Oberlin College. Tip-off is set for 1:00 PM from Pam Evans Smith Arena, as Wittenberg's schedule, remains strictly NCAC contests the rest of the way.