The third time was not a charm for the Wittenberg Tigers, who dropped a 70-59 decision to the Kenyon Ladies in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament quarterfinals. The Tigers had won both regular season meetings, but the Ladies finished one game ahead of Wittenberg in the final standings to earn hosting rights.
The loss dropped the Tigers to 12-14 overall after finishing fifth in the NCAC regular season title chase with a mark of 7-7. It also secured Wittenberg's first losing season since 1988-89, the year before the Tigers joined the NCAC.
Kenyon improved to 15-11 overall and posting an 8-6 conference mark. The Ladies moved into the tourney semifinals to face unbeaten and nationally ranked Denison on Friday.
The Tigers never led in the game, but the Ladies never managed to pull away either. The key to the game wound up being the play of a freshman — but unlike in the first meeting at Kenyon between the two teams, this first-year student was wearing purple, instead of Red & White. Maureen Hirt, who came into the game averaging less than 14 points per game, blitzed Wittenberg for a career-high 29 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, including 5-of-9 from three-point range. She added a perfect 6-of-6 on free throws to go along with eight rebounds and two assists.
In a nine-point Wittenberg win on Jan. 15, freshman Jaclyn Willoughby (Sidney, Ohio/Houston) poured in a career-best 33 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists. She was held to seven points in 26 minutes off the bench in the third meeting between the two teams.
Kenyon shot 44 percent from the field, compared to 39 percent for Wittenberg. The teams split 79 rebounds as evenly as possible and the Tigers committed just two more turnovers.
Individually, Wittenberg was paced by junior Sarah Watson (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists, while senior Katherine Hueter (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Darby) was outstanding in her final collegiate appearance with 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.