By: Jenn Ryan, '19
Springfield, OH– The Wittenberg Women's Basketball team kept the crowd at Pam Evans Smith Arena on the edge of their seats with a close 70-64 win over Oberlin College in the NCAC Tournament Quarterfinal matchup. The Yeowomen and the Tigers traded turns on top, with the Tigers ending the game six points ahead at the end of the night. Delaney Williams ended the game with a team-leading 16 points, followed closely by Kristie Kalis who tallied 13 points. Throughout the first half, both teams combined for 43 total free throw shots – the Tigers making 18 of 23, and the Yeowomen converting on 11 of 20 attempts from the line.
Game Breakdown
The Tigers and the Yeowomen shared the lead throughout the first quarter, fighting to a nail-biting 23-22 Wittenberg lead. Kalis led the scoring effort for the Tigers in the first quarter with seven points, coming on one three-pointer and four free throws. Culver followed Kalis' scoring lead, logging five points on 2 of 3 from the field.
In a slower-paced second quarter, the scoring stayed consistent between both sides trading the lead again – this time off of free throw points. Only four points scored by the Tigers came on a layup, while the remaining seven came from free throws. Meanwhile, the Yeowoman tallied seven of their 12 points from the charity stripe. Williams added eight points before the break, converting on all six of her attempts from the free throw line.
At the end of the third quarter, the Yeowomen still maintained their lead coming out of the half, still on top of the Tigers by one at 52-51. Kalis kept the momentum going in the second half, taking her total up to 13 points, adding two field goals and pulling down three rebounds, while Williams took her count up to 12 points on the night.
Sydney Mayle helped the Tigers get out and ahead in the fourth quarter, scoring a layup that finally puts the Tigers on top of the Yeowomen 55-54. Mayle kept her scoring streak going by putting up five more points throughout the fourth quarter. The Yeowomen tried to keep their hopes alive by fouling in the last two minutes but were unable to stop Williams from making two of her four free throw attempts down the stretch. Alex Kiess added one additional free throw point with 2.7 seconds left in the game to give the Tigers the 70-64 win.
Who Stood Out
Williams went 4 of 9 from the floor and tallied eight of her points from free throw attempts on the night. Culver and Kiess tied for nine points apiece, Kiess adding three free throw points out of five attempted. Kalis went six-for-six at the free throw line, and Abigail Crum went two-for-two at the line.
Up Next
This Friday, February 22nd, the Tigers will take on the DePauw Tigers at DePauw. Semi-final tip-off will be at 5:00 p.m.