Tigers Keep Season Alive in NCAC Quarterfinals

OBERLIN, OH-The Wittenberg women's basketball team traveled to Oberlin to take on the Yeowomen in the quarterfinals of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament, with the winner set to take on regular season champion Ohio Wesleyan in the semifinals. The Tigers won both of the teams previous matchups in the regular season, and they were able to win this game as well by a score of 60-42.

With the win, Wittenberg's record improves to 17-9 while Oberlin ends their season with a record of 14-12. Wittenberg, the fifth seed in the tournament after finishing in a three-way tie for third place in the NCAC regular season standings, is now set to take on Ohio Wesleyan for the third time this season to compete for a spot in the NCAC Tournament championship game.

The first quarter was extremely low scoring with both teams struggling to find their offensive rhythm before Wittenberg took a 10-9 lead heading into the second. In the second, the Tigers outscored the Yeowomen, 14-8, to take a seven-point lead at halftime. In the third, the Tigers roared to life and lit up the scoreboard with 23 points, and the Tigers stretched the lead to 16 heading into the last quarter of play. Wittenberg once again outsocred Oberlin by two points to take home the win and advance to the conference semifinals.

Team Leaders

• Jazmyn Gaines-Burns (Bladensburg, MD / Elizabeth Seton) paced the Tigers in scoring with 11 points, and Karsen Karlblom (Crystal Lake, IL / Prairie Ridge) scored 10 to be the only two players in double figures. Four other players scored six points or more.
• Riane Burton (Houston, TX / Cypress Ranch) grabbed six rebounds to lead the team and Karlblom and McKenna Baker (Brownsburg, IN / Bethesda Christian) each had five.
• Taryn Cash (Cincinnati, OH / Princeton) led the Tigers in assists with six and Karlblom logged another three.
• Karlblom and Baker each recorded a block and six different Tigers came away with multiple steals.

Team Comparison

• Wittenberg led in almost every category except for turnovers, here both teams had 23, both teams also logged 17 steals and Wittenberg had eight second chance points to Oberlin's nine.
• The Tigers outrebounded the Yeowomen, 38-32 and had a better shooting percentage from the field, from three and from the free throw line.
• Wittenberg also led in assists, 12-9 and had 12 bench points in comparison to nine for Oberlin.

The Tigers next game will be the NCAC Semifinal matchup, where they will take on Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware on Friday, February 28, with the tip-off time TBD.