DELAWARE, Ohio - One of the North Coast Athletic Conference's (NCAC) best recent women's basketball rivalries lived up to its reputation Wednesday night as Wittenberg lost a close contest by a score of 75-69 against Ohio Wesleyan.
The Tigers and the Battling Bishops split their ten meetings down the middle over the last four seasons, including a split in NCAC Tournament games and one season sweep for each side. This year, the Bishops took both meetings following a 53-65 loss in Springfield on January 12.
Overall, Wittenberg still leads the all-time series 34-21. In other all-time record book
news, senior wing Katherine Hueter (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Darby) used the game to move up in multiple career categories with nine points, four rebounds and three assists.
Hueter moved into a 10th-place tie with Kathy Hittle (2003-04 to 2006-07) on the scoring charts with 901 points and overtook Hittle (722) for third place in rebounds with 723, and also tied Anna Parrill (1983-84 to 1986-87) for fourth place with 239 assists.
Hueter, the team's lone senior, and her outstanding career will be celebrated at Senior Day at the Tigers' next game, Saturday, Jan. 12, hosting Wooster at 2 p.m. in Pam Evans Smith Arena.
Cold shooting dominated the first 20 minutes for the Tigers, who shot 10-of-35 from the field compared to 16-of-32 for Ohio Wesleyan. At the end of the period, Wittenberg trailed 41-29.
It was a different story in the second half, however, as the Tigers went made five of their first six shots, including a three-point play from junior wing Lauren Cassel (Columbus, Ohio/Dublin Coffman), chopping the halftime lead to three at 44-41 just 3:11 into the period.
The Bishops led by five at 54-49 when both teams went cold for almost four minutes. A free throw make by junior forward Lyndsey Clark (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) broke the silence and was followed by three made layups to tie the game for the first time at 56-56 with 4:54 to go.
Ohio Wesleyan responded with an 11-4 run to reclaim a seven-point lead over the next three minutes, only to have the Tigers pull back within two points twice. That was as close as the Tigers would get again, though, as the Bishops hit 6-of-8 free throws after Wittenberg was forced to foul down the final 30 seconds.
Freshman guard Jaclyn Willoughby (Sidney, Ohio/Houston) led the Tigers with 17 points and, with nine rebounds, tied for the team lead with sophomore post Kim Replogle (Houston, Ohio/Houston).
Cassel finished behind Willoughy with 10 points, her fifth consecutive double-digit outing, while sophomore Ashanta Robinson (Yellow Springs, Ohio/Yellow Springs) added nine points to finish third with Hueter. Clark tallied four steals in the contest, and junior post Sarah Watson (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) contributed seven points and six rebounds.