Springfield, OH- Wittenberg returned home for their final match-up of the regular season. The Tigers stepped on the court against the Ladies of Kenyon for the second time this season. The last time the Red & White saw Kenyon in action it was a close 59-51. In that match-up the Tigers were led by Kristie Kalis in points and would look to Kalis to do the same tonight against the Ladies.
The Tigers were led by Taryn Cash, Delaney Williams, Abigail Yunker, Kristie Kalis, Jade Simpson on the court as Wittenberg's starting five. The starting line-up accumulated a total of 40 points, 19 rebounds, and an overall shooting percentage of 51%. As a team, Wittenberg was 23-54 in field goals, 4-10 in three points, and 7-12 from the line.
Wittenberg got a variety of shooters involved in the first quarter with points coming from Semie Brar, Kylee Slone, Delaney Williams, Kristie Kalis, and Taryn Cash. The Tigers were able to put 12 points on the board in the first quarter, with half of their points coming from the paint. Wittenberg headed into the second quarter with a 12-7 lead and looked to extend that in the second. The second quarter brought a more determined Kenyon offense with 13 points but Wittenberg was able to match their energy and added 11 to the board for a 23-20 score heading into the half with the Tigers leading. At the half, the Tigers were led by Kristie Kalis with six points, Delaney Williams with two assists and four rebounds.
Kenyon continued to hammer down in the third quarter, quickly closing the Tigers gap. Both teams went even in scoring into the final minutes of the third with Sam Wyatt, Jade Simpson, Abigail Yunker, and Taryn Cash getting on the board. The Red & White went outscored in the third and Kenyon was able to take a last second lead, going into the fourth ahead 38-35. The Tigers took the lead again in the fourth with help from Simpson and Brar but the Ladies stayed right on Wittenberg's tail. After seven minutes of play the Tigers were able to take a nine-point lead and momentum shifted to Wittenberg's favor. Wittenberg ended the quarter with their highest scoring of the game with 22 points from four different individuals to take a 57-46 win.
Wittenberg Leaders- The Tigers had nine different individuals score, being led by Kristie Kalis and Jade Simpson with 12 points each. Abigail Yunker led the Red & White in assists with four, leading to ten points for Wittenberg. Defensively, Delaney Williams led the way with seven rebounds.
NCAC Leaders- Five Tigers continue to sit in the top ten in the NCAC for statistics. Kristie Kalis sits tied at number eight in the conference for points this season with 283 prior to today's match-up. Kalis also lands in the top ten for field goals made this season with 101. Jade Simpson leads the Tigers at number seven in the NCAC for field goal percentage at 47.9%, going 91-190. Kalis continues to lead the way in three points made at number four with 43 shots being made while Yunker sits just outside at number 11 with 26. Yunker does come in at number two in the conference for three-point percentage with an average of 43.3%. Just behind in three-point percentage is Kelsey Ragan at number nine with a 34.0% average. Going 46-55, Yunker lands at number two for field goal percentage with an 83.6% success rate. On the ball control side, Jade Simpson lands at number four in the conference for rebounds with 193; 125 being defensive and 68 being offensive. Delaney Williams sits at number three for assists on the season with 91 and number eight in steals with 38 on the season. Joining in on ball control is Kalis at number nine for steals with 36 and number four in blocks with 28. (All statistics are based prior to today's match-up. For complete NCAC statistical leaders go to https://www.northcoast.org/sports/wbkb/2021-22/leaders)
Up Next- Wittenberg will await NCAC seeding in anticipation for the NCAC Championship Tournament.