Roundup: Tigers Turn Things Around With Kiwanis Classic Title
The Wittenberg women's basketball team is in just about the same predicament as it was a year ago - just before the Tigers went on a 21-game win streak that carried them to North Coast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships and a berth in the NCAA Division III Round of 16 for the first time in school history.
The Wittenberg women's basketball team is in just about the same predicament as it was a year ago - just before the Tigers went on a 21-game win streak that carried them to North Coast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships and a berth in the NCAA Division III Round of 16 for the first time in school history.
After starting the season 1-4, Wittenberg turned things around with four wins in five games, culminating in a championship in the Kiwanis-Wittenberg Holiday Classic. The Tigers dropped back below the .500 mark with a loss to sixth-ranked DePauw on Monday in the 2004-05 nonconference finale.
The Tigers spread the wealth on offense and took advantage of 35 Centre College turnovers in a 67-46 victory to open the Kiwanis-Wittenberg Holiday Classic on Dec. 29.
The points off turnovers specialty statistic really told the story. Centre committed a whopping 35 miscues, compared to 15 turnovers by the host team, leading to 27 more shots for Wittenberg and a 31-9 advantage on points off turnovers. In addition, Centre, which had just seven players see the court in the game, was outscored 46-12 in bench points. That's because Wittenberg put 15 players into the game and 12 of them scored, led by freshman post Katie Gregorevich (Northfield, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) with 12 points and sophomore post Kathy Hittle (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) with 10 points and eight rebounds, the latter tying her for game honors.
The next night, the Tigers fought off a strong challenge from Hanover to win 66-60 and capture the program's first Kiwanis-Wittenberg Holiday Classic title since 2001.
Wittenberg led almost the entire game, as a jumper by Gregorevich at the 10:58 mark of the first half actually gave the Tigers a lead they would never relinquish. Wittenberg held on in the waning seconds as freshman post Ali Rohlfs (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) hit a big lay-up with 21 seconds left and then Tournament MVP, senior guard Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson), blocked a late three-pointer to preserve the win.
Schmid finished with the first double-double of her career with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Rohlfs, who also made the all-tournament team, led all scorers with 15 points. Gregorevich added eight points and two assists in 17 minutes off the bench.
Rounding things out, the Tigers came up just short in an upset bid of sixth-ranked DePauw Monday in Springfield. Wittenberg had its chances in a 65-61 defeat.
The visiting Tigers jumped out to a 9-0 lead to open the game, but Wittenberg settled down and slowly worked that advantage until Schmid capped a 7-0 burst with a three-pointer at the 5:26 mark of the first half and gave the hosts their first lead at 20-19. Wittenberg led by as many as five points in the second half, but DePauw took the lead with about 13 minutes remaining and held on thanks to terrific foul shooting (18-of-20 in the second half).
Wittenberg won the rebounding battle 42-33, including 20 boards on the offensive end, as Hittle led with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Schmid added 11 points and five rebounds, sophomore guard Megan Miller (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) chipped in with nine points and junior guard Carrie Jones (Greenville, Ohio/Greenville) finished with four points, five rebounds and four assists.