Big Second Half Propels Tigers To 29-Point Win Over Oberlin

SPRINGFIELD, OH - It took almost 20 minutes, but once Wittenberg Women's Basketball found its groove against visiting Oberlin, the Tigers played some of their best basketball of the season en route to an 80-51 victory.

The win moved the Tigers to 11-5 overall and 3-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). Oberlin fell to 8-8 overall and 2-3 in the league.

Wittenberg jumped out to an early lead, but Oberlin's defensive pressure caused the Tigers quite a bit of confusion as the first half went on. Wittenberg led 20-19 at the end of the first quarter, but Oberlin turned the Tigers over multiple times early in the second quarter with a trapping 1-3-1 zone to take a lead as big as four points before Wittenberg closed the half with a burst to take a 40-31 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

In the second half, Oberlin's shooting went cold, and the Tigers were able to speed up the game as the Yeowomen were often unable to set up their defense. By game's end, four Tigers had reached double figures in scoring, led by Riane Burton (Houston, TX / Cypress Ranch) and Karsen Karlblom (Crystal Lake, IL / Prairie Ridge) with 17 points apiece, followed by Jazmyn Gaines-Burns (Bladensburg, MD / Elizabeth Seton) and McKenna Baker (Brownsburg, IN / Bethesda Christian) with 11 points each.

For the game, Wittenberg shot 49.2% for the game, compared to 34.6% for Oberlin, and the Tigers had their best game of the season from three-point range, hitting 15-of-26 for 57.7%. Wittenberg held a 35-25 rebounding advantage, led Burton's game-high eight boards, and the Tigers piled up 22 assists in the game, led by Taryn Cash (Cincinnati, OH / Princeton) with a season-high 12 in the game, which was one off her school record of 13 set last year.