Greencastle, IN- The Tigers hit the road for a conference match-up against the DePauw Tigers in Greencastle, Indiana tonight. The Red & White who were 1-1 in road matches looked to improve to a winning record in away match-ups. The last time Wittenberg saw DePauw in action, the Red & White defeated the Tigers with a 41-37 score, marking their first win of the 2020-21 season. However, the Tigers had tough competition coming with DePauw leading the series 25-4. Wittenberg was not able to improve their overall record after falling to DePauw with a score of 83-57.
The Tigers looked to seniors Abigail Yunker, Delaney Williams, and Kristie Kalis for help on the offense. Kalis who has led the team in points for the past three years, put up eight points to help the Tigers while Williams tallied 11 on the night and Yunker took charge with 14. Wittenberg was led by Delaney Williams, Abigail Yunker, Kristie Kalis, Jade Simpson, and Kelsey Ragan as the Tigers starting five. The starting line-up accumulated a total of 44 points, 16 rebounds, and an overall shooting percentage of 38.8%.
Wittenberg was able to get on the board first with Delaney Williams scoring in the first 22 seconds. The Tigers kept the lead until the 6:49 mark where a back-and-forth battle would begin. With a made 3-point from Kalis the Tigers were able to head into the second quarter tied up at 15 with DePauw. Williams led the first quarter with five points with Kalis and Ragan right behind with three points each and two assists from Kalis. The second quarter led to six points from Abigail Yunker, two from Kalis, one from Ragan and two each for Sam Wyatt and Autumn Crockett. However, Wittenberg would fall behind, only putting up 13 points compared to DePauw's 25, leaving the Red & White down 40-28 heading into the half.
The third quarter played out similarly to the second with Wittenberg putting up 12 points and DePauw putting 29 on the board. The Tigers were led by Jade Simpson in the third with six points. Kalis added two more to her total on the night and Williams put four points on the board to give Wittenberg 40 points. The Tigers trailed 69-40 heading into the fourth but were able to remain steady with DePauw into the remaining minutes. Wyatt and Yunker led in the fourth quarter, each putting up four points. Wittenberg was able to outscore DePauw 17-14 in the final quarter but ultimately fell with a final 83-57 score. Wittenberg now stands 3-5 overall and 1-2 in the conference.
Wittenberg Leaders- The Tigers were led by Abigail Yunker offensively with 14 points, going 2-2 from the line, 5-11 in the field, and 2-3 in three points. Following in points on the night was Delaney Williams with 11 and Kristie Kalis and Jade Simpson with 8 points each. Kalis and Williams also picked up three assists each which led to 14 points for the Tigers. Yunker led the way for Wittenberg in rebounds with six defensive and two offensive rebounds.
NCAC Leaders- For the fourth week in a row five Tigers sit in the top ten in the NCAC for statistics.
Abigail Yunker is sits at number ten in the conference for points on the season with a total of 106. Just outside the top ten for points Krisite Kalis at number 12 with 103. Jade Simpson sits at number nine in the conference for field goal percentage with a season average of 45.6%. Kalis, Yunker, and Ragan are all in the top ten for three-points made this season with Kalis leading the way at number three, while Ragan and Yunker are tied at ten. For three-point percentage Yunker lands at number three in the conference with 45.8% while Ragan lands at number five with 44.0%. Yunker also lands in the top ten for free throws made, being put on the line for an attempt of 26 on the season and 21 made for an 80.8% accuracy. Defensively, Jade Simpson lands at number seven in the conference for rebounds with 72; 48 being defensive and 24 being offensive. Delaney Williams sits at number two for assists on the season with 34. Yunker also lands in the top ten for assists with 20 on the season. (For complete NCAC statistical leaders go to https://www.northcoast.org/sports/wbkb/2021-22/leaders)
Up Next- The Tigers will return home for their next match-up over the holiday season. They will take on Clark State and Asbury on the 20th and 22nd in Pam Evans Smith Arena.