Ashanta Robinson
HOLLAND, Mich. — The Wittenberg women's basketball team became the first to hold second-ranked Hope College under 70 points all season, but lost the concluding contest of the Hope Classic 69-48 in falling to 4-5 overall.
The Tigers also became just the second team not ranked or receiving votes in the d3hoops.com Women's Top 25 Poll to keep Hope to a winning margin of less than 25.
The Flying Dutch (9-0), ranked second in both the d3hoops.com and WBCA Coaches Top 25 polls, dispatched Concordia (Ill.) by a score of 73-38 on Friday, while the Tigers handled Kalamazoo 65-53 in the Classic's opening game.
Junior post Sarah Watson (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) earned all-tournament honors with 29 points and 17 rebounds on the weekend, including a team-high 13 points against Hope. Senior wing Katherine Hueter (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Darby)topped the rebounding charts in Saturday's action with nine, seven coming on the defensive end.
Junior wing Lauren Cassel (Columbus, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) turned in a solid all-around performance with nine points and seven rebounds, second on the team in both categories.
The Tigers trailed 42-20 at the half, and in the second period outscored Hope 28-27, thanks in large part to 3-of-5 from Watson, 3-of-6 from Cassel and 3-of-3 from sophomore post Kim Replogle (Houston, Ohio/Houston), who finished the game with seven points and five rebounds.
Sophomore forward/wing Ashanta Robinson (Yellow Springs, Ohio/Yellow Springs) also turned in seven points, adding a team-best four assists to the mix.
Wittenberg will now recess until Wednesday, Dec. 29, when they take on Hanover at 2:15 p.m. in the 2010 edition of the Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic hosted by Kiwanis. The Tigers finish the Classic with a 4:30 p.m. matchup with Mount St. Joseph on Thursday, Dec. 30.
John Strawn '07