Wittenberg Races Past Hiram

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Less than 24 hours after struggling mightily against the Allegheny Gators, the Wittenberg Tigers rebounded nicely with an 84-50 home victory over Hiram.

The Tigers, who improved to 13-9 overall and 9-4 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, have never lost to the Terriers in the five years since Hiram joined the league. The Terriers, who claimed a 67-61 victory Friday at Earlham, fell to 7-14 overall and 2-11 in the conference.

The key to the win was depth. Leading by 13 points at halftime, the Tigers put on a huge push in the second 20 minutes, outscoring their visitors 46-25. Wittenberg's starters played just five minutes each in the second half and just 11 minutes total in the game as all 15 Wittenberg players in uniform saw at least 10 minutes of action and 13 of them scored at least two points.

Wittenberg shot 42 percent from the field and 68 percent from the free throw line, compared to 33 percent afield for the Terriers. The turnover numbers were low for both teams, a combined total of 30, but the big difference was in rebounds. Wittenberg pulled down 58 boards to just 27 for the Terriers. Included in that number was a phenomenal 30 offensive rebounds for Wittenberg, out of 58 total.

Individually, it was a big day for two Wittenberg reserves. Junior guard Carrie Jones finished with 17 points, 15 of which came in the first half, and three rebounds, and junior post Joyce Dindo added her first career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds in a team-high 22 minutes. Senior guard Emilie Schmid rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points.

For Hiram, Jessica Harris finished with 14 points and Cassie Bedard hit for 13. Valerie Goudy led with five rebounds from her point guard spot.