WBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[David Collinge]

Marietta 80, Oberlin 54

"We have been working on some things we were able to do tonight, but we are not quite there yet. We played with a lot of heart, and we are almost ready to play at a successful level."

[David Collinge]

Denison 82, Wooster 56 (at Granville)
Wooster found themselves out of position and unprepared for the National Anthem, which was performed (on tape) with tremendous grace and beauty by a group of Denison co-eds.  And that pretty much summed up the game that followed, especially the decisive first eight minutes thereof.  A simple glance at the boxscore paints a picture of Wooster's defense:  Denison shot 47.9% (60% in the 1st half), grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, and committed just 11 turnovers.  It's a shame, too, because Wooster's Kym Wenz just might be the best player in the conference.  She's athletic, strong, has a good shot, knows where to position herself for a rebound, and sees the whole floor.  Like Carly Loehrke before her, though, she gets just about zero help, and can't win the game by herself.  It's hard to evaluate Denison based on this one game, since they were not challenged at all and cruised to an easy victory.  They did receive balanced scoring, however, as four Big Red scored 16 points apiece.  Each team is now 1-1 in conference play.

Elsewhere,
Kenyon 55, Ohio Wesleyan 48 (at Delaware)...15 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 steals for Anne Dugan
Wittenberg 82, Allegheny 51 (at Springfield)...Tigers outrebound Gators 48-32, collect 18 steals, and outshoot the Gators 52.2% to 28.8%, all of which led to an advantage in field goals of 20. 
Hiram 70, Earlham 58 (at Richmond)...Four Terriers in double figures, including a double-double (10/10) from Ashley Drum

Saturday's schedule:
Allegheny (1-2) at Earlham (1-2)
Hiram (1-2) at Wittenberg (2-0)
Kenyon (2-0) at Oberlin (0-2)
Ohio Wesleyan (2-1) at Wooster (1-1)
Denison (1-1) is idle

[David Collinge]

Belated congratulations to OWU senior win Steffi Graff, named the NCAC Player of the Week back on Sunday.  She was honored for her performance in leading the Bishops to the championship of the South Padre Island Shootout.  Congratulations, Steffi!

[David Collinge]

Wittenberg 74, Hiram 56...Tigers unable to shake pesky Terriers until the closing minutes, but they score the last 9 points of the game to secure the win. 

[jscwittfan]

Nice little roll for the Tigers.  With a road win over Denison already in the bag, it looks like the Tigers are making an early statement in the conference.

[David Collinge]

Complete results:
Wittenberg 74, Hiram 56 (at Springfield)
Kenyon 76, Oberlin 43 (at Oberlin)
Ohio Wesleyan 61, Wooster 48 (at Wooster)
Allegheny 71, Earlham 67 (at Richmond)

Current standings:
Kenyon (3-0)
Wittenberg (3-0)
OWU (3-1)
Denison (1-1)
Allegheny (2-2)
Wooster (1-2)
Earlham (1-3)
Hiram (1-3)
Oberlin (0-3)
Wabash...DNP

Wednesday's games:
Wooster at Kenyon
Denison at Ohio Wesleyan
Earlham at Wittenberg
Oberlin at Kalamazoo...(Tuesday 1/8)
Hiram and Allegheny are idle

[David Collinge]

Leading Kenyon to a 3-0 start in conference play, Kenyon's Alisha Moreno has been named the NCAC Player of the Week for the second time this season.  Alisha dropped in better than half of her three-point attempts, scoring 24 points and handing out eight assists in victories at OWU and Oberlin.  Earning two POTW plaques in one season is a rare honor, but Alisha is certainly a rare talent.  Congratulations, Li!

[David Collinge]

Kenyon 62, Wooster 49 (at Gambier)...Ladies overcome a very shaky first half and an outstanding game from Wooster's Kaitlin Krister to stay tied atop the conference standings with...
Wittenberg 78, Earlham 62 (at Springfield)...Witt gets a career-high 24 points from Stephanie Boardman; Earlham shoots 4/29 in the first half
Denison 68, Ohio Wesleyan 63 (at Delaware)...Bishops lose a second home contest to a top contender, severely damaging their own title chances

Non-conference game from Tuesday:
Kalamazoo 69, Oberlin 53 (at Kalamazoo)

Updated conference standings:
Kenyon 4-0 NCAC / 7-6 overall
Wittenberg 4-0 / 5-5
Denison 2-1 / 6-6
Ohio Wesleyan 3-2 / 8-5
Allegheny 2-2 / 5-8
Wooster 1-3 / 4-8
Hiram 1-3 / 3-9
Earlham 1-4 / 2-11
Oberlin 0-3 / 1-10
Wabash...DNP

Saturday's games:
Earlham at Kenyon
Wittenberg at Oberlin
Denison at Hiram
Ohio Wesleyan at Allegheny
Wooster is idle

[David Collinge]

Saturday slate, no surprises:
Kenyon 71, Earlham 46 (at Gambier)...Earlham shoots 25%, Kenyon grabs 58 rebounds
Wittenberg 66, Oberlin 48 (at Oberlin)...Nine Tigers score, spoiling a fine 17-point, 9-board, 3-block effort from Oberlin's Roneisha Kinney
Denison 77, Hiram 53 (at Hiram)...Four Big Red players in double figures, led by first-years Shaina Kaiser (14) and Haley Dahlgard (13)
Ohio Wesleyan 77, Allegheny 52 (at Meadville)...Steffi Graf: 24 points (9/15 including 3 treys), 5 boards, 4 assists

Updated standings:
Kenyon 5-0 / 8-6
Wittenberg 5-0 / 6-5
Denison 3-1 / 7-6
Ohio Wesleyan 4-2 / 9-5
Allegheny 2-3 / 5-9
Wooster 1-3 / 4-8
Hiram 1-4 / 3-10
Earlham 1-5 / 2-12
Oberlin 0-4 / 1-11
Wabash...DNP

Wednesday's games:
Kenyon at Wittenberg...First place on the line
Denison at Wooster
Allegheny at Oberlin
OWU, Hiram, Earlham, Wabash all idle

[David Collinge]

In helping Denison to key wins over Hiram and OWU, Ellen O'Brien becomes the second Big Red junior to earn NCAC Player of the Week accolades.  O'Brien contributed 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists in the two wins.  Congratulations, Ellen! 

[jscwittfan]

In what was a back and forth game, Kenyon scores the last 11 points to turn a late 1 point deficit into a 10 point victory over Wittenberg.  Kenyon has 4 in double figures, led by Alisha Moreno with 19.  Wittenberg gets a big 28 points and 14 rebounds from Katie Gregorevich, but the Tigers are done in by some lackluster 3 point shooting, going 4-19 from behind the arc, as well as 23 turnovers.  Tough game overall for Victoria Leali, who went 1-7 from the field with 4 turnovers (including 2 in the final 90 seconds).

Kenyon moves into first place in the NCAC with a conference record of 6-0 (9-6 overall).  Wittenberg falls to 5-1 in the conference, and back to .500 for the season at 6-6.

[David Collinge]

Oberlin 71, Allegheny 68 (at Oberlin)...You can stick a fork in the Gators this season, as J.J. Jumper wills the Yeowomen to the upset.
Denison 82, Wooster 55 (at Wooster)...Big Red keep pace with front-running Kenyon, cruising to the easy victory over the hapless Scots
Kenyon 70, Wittenberg 60 (at Springfield)...see above.  Ladies have now won on the home courts of two key rivals, OWU and Witt.  They play at Denison next Weds.

Updated standings:
Kenyon 6-0 / 9-6
Wittenberg 5-1 / 6-6
Denison 4-1 / 8-6
Ohio Wesleyan 4-2 / 9-5
Allegheny 2-4 / 5-10
Wooster 1-4 / 4-9
Hiram 1-4 / 3-10
Oberlin 1-4 / 2-11
Earlham 1-5 / 2-12
Wabash...DNP

Saturday's lineup:
Kenyon at Allegheny
Oberlin at Denison
Ohio Wesleyan at Earlham
Wooster at Hiram
Wittenberg is idle; plays at Capital Mon. in a big non-conference test

[David Collinge]

Saturday:
Kenyon 59, Allegheny 57 (at Meadville)...17 apiece from Hilary Gowins and Anne Dugan and 10 assists from Alisha Moreno help stave off the upset bid
Denison 82, Oberlin 59 (at Granville)...Everything Denison tried worked, including Ellen O'Brien's half-court buzzer-beating trey to end the first half
Ohio Welseyan 66, Earlham 47 (at Richmond)...Another game never in doubt
Wooster 66, Hiram 63 (at Hiram)...Trailing by 6 with 2:37 left, Scots score the game's final nine points to pull out the road win

Updated standings:
Kenyon 7-0 / 10-6
Wittenberg 5-1 / 6-6
Denison 5-1 / 9-6
Ohio Wesleyan 5-2 / 10-5
Wooster 2-4 / 5-9
Allegheny 2-5 / 5-11
Hiram 1-5 / 3-11
Oberlin 1-5 / 2-12
Earlham 1-6 / 2-13
Wabash...DNP

Upcoming games:
Monday:
Wittenberg at Capital
Heidelberg at Oberlin

Wednesday:
Kenyon at Denison
Wittenberg at Earlham
Hiram at Oberlin
Wooster at Bluffton
Allegheny, Ohio Wesleyan, and Wabash are idle

[David Collinge]

Capital 85, Wittenberg 83 (2 OT) (at Bexley)

Now that was a helluva game.  The first half was so thoroughly dominated by Capital that the only thing that could distract me from my crossword puzzle was my interest in seeing the reactions from the assemblage of OWU women's team members, there scouting their Saturday opponent.  By halftime, I'm sure they were dreaming of easy victory over an unathletic and disorganized team.  Witt went to the half with 10 turnovers, a rebound deficit of better than 2:1 (26-12), and just nine field goals, and were frankly lucky to be trailing by just 14. 

Then in the locker room, the imposter Tigers switched uniforms with the real ones, who came blazing out of the locker room with a whole new attitude.  Little by little they ate away at the deficit, led by Ali Rohlfs' 20 second half points.  Rohlfs came into the game shooting .318 from the field and a putrid .147 from the arc, but hit 6/8 overall and 2/3 from long-range in the second half.  She complemented that career performance with a 6/6 tab from the free throw line.  Witt also got 11 points from Katie Gregorevich in the second half; together, the two senior posts matched Capital's offensive output in the second half.

Much like their male counterparts Saturday, the Witt women got even for the first time within the final minute of regulation, forcing a clearly spent Capital team into a highly unanticipated overtime.  Midway through the first OT period, Gregorevich fouled out, and although Witt was able to regroup and force a second OT on Carrie Dyer's jumper, they couldn't maintain the momentum and finally succumbed. 

I expect that the Tigers, although disappointed, will be able to take heart in their ability to come all the way back against a pretty good team (Cap is now 11-5, having snapped a 3 game losing streak, all at home) after being so soundly thrashed in the first period.

Elsewhere,
Heidelberg 69, Oberlin 58 (at Oberlin)...Double double-doubles from Roneisha Kinney (18 & 13) and Alyssa Clark (17 & 10) were not enough to overcome the...Student Princes? Student Princesses?  Judging from a quick skimming of their press releases, I guess the women go by "the Berg."  Ick. 

[jscwittfan]

Official Press Release Regarding Next Saturday's Dedication Ceremony

Wittenberg To Dedicate Pam Evans Smith Arena Feb. 2