Written by: Sutton Jacobs '18
SPRINGFIELD, OHIO – Pam Evans Smith Arena hosted its first basketball gamee of the season last night, boasting its new playing surface installed this summer. Featured in the NCAC-OAC match-up, the Crusaders of Capital took down the Tigers 66-53 in a hard-fought bout. Leading the Tiger scoring-efforts were Delaney Williams and Alex Kiess, as the duo banked 13 points each in the night game. Kiess went 5-10 from the floor, including 3-6 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Williams sunk four shots from the floor and went perfect-four from the line.
How It Happened: The Tigers suffered on the floor, but found momentum on several key plays. Kiess landed two three-pointers in the first to keep the Capital lead within reach. In the third, Riley Culver powered her way to a steal, leading to a Williams-assisted jumper by Korynne Berner, who added on the plus-one after a foul on the shot. Shortly followed, Williams added two points from the paint to keep a seven-point margin. Culver made another steal, leading to a jumper from Hannah Weaver and forcing a Capital timeout.
Inside the Numbers: The Tigers shot 30.5% from the field on the night, attempting 18 shots from beyond the arc with six made. Capital handled 14 turnovers in Wittenbergs favor, allowing the Tigers to cash in 10 points from the Crusader errors. The Tigers tipped nine additional points on second chances, after collecting 15 offensive rebounds. The red and white controlled 32 rebounds altogether.
Up Next: Wittenberg will see another day of action on home court after the Thanksgiving holiday, taking on Franklin College at 2:00 PM on Sunday Nov. 25.