CEDARVILLE, Ohio - The Battle of State Route 72 was reignited Tuesday night as the Wittenberg women's basketball team traveled south to nearby Cedarville University, falling by a final score of 82-71 to the 15th-ranked NAIA Division II Yellow Jackets.
Cedarville, a scholarship program which next year will take on provisional status as a member of the NCAA Division II, could never put much distance between itself and the 9-9 Tigers.
Wittenberg kept the affair close in the first half and after briefly leading early in the game, never fell behind by more than 12, and repeatedly fought back within four.
Senior wing Katherine Hueter (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Darby) claimed four rebounds, two assists and two steals in the half to go with 4-of-7 shooting, including 2-for-2 from three-point range and 2-of-2 at the free throw line. As a team, the Tigers shot an even 40-percent in the first period.
The Yellow Jackets proved their national ranking is deserved in the second half, building out to a game-high 17-point lead with 10:43 remaining. Still, the Tigers kept the pressure up, at times breaking into a matchup zone that Cedarville seemed unable to decode.
On the other end, backdoor cuts from junior wing Lauren Cassel (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) and smart post play from junior post Sarah Watson (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) and Hueter kept the offensive pace up.
Cassel took advantage with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting, a perfect 6-of-6 from the line and one steal. She finished the game with a career-high 20 points on 7-of-13 from the floor.
Hueter finished the game with team-highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds, her seventh double-double of the season, also tying her season-high in scoring. Cassel and Hueter combined for the team's first game with two 20-point scorers since a 72-64 loss to Capital earlier this season on Nov. 23, 2010.
Watson finished with 10 points thanks to 6-of-8 free throw shooting and a team-best six assists. Freshman guard Jaclyn Willoughby (Sidney, Ohio/Houston) contributed three steals and four assists.
Sophomore wing Aimee Carpenter (Cleveland, Ohio/Lutheran West) led a quartet of Tigers who each scored four points on 2-of-2 shooting.
The Tigers, now finished with non-conference play, resume North Coast Athletic Conference action on Saturday, Jan. 29, with a 1 p.m. matchup at Oberlin.