Women's Basketball Roundup - Jan. 20
The Wittenberg women's basketball team stumbled in its most recent game, but the Tigers remain in control of their own destiny, one game ahead of their nearest pursuer in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Tigers stand 9-6 overall and 6-1 in the NCAC heading into the home stretch of the 2005-06 season.
The Wittenberg women's basketball team stumbled in its most recent game, but the Tigers remain in control of their own destiny, one game ahead of their nearest pursuer in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Tigers stand 9-6 overall and 6-1 in the NCAC heading into the home stretch of the 2005-06 season.
The Tigers are hoping to capture their fourth regular season NCAC title in the last five years, and in the process gain the No. 1 seed in the NCAC Tournament at the end of February. Last year's second-place finish in the NCAC regular season standings broke a three-year run atop the league, and the Tigers' loss in the tourney semifinals to eventual champion Denison halted a two-year run in the national tournament for Wittenberg.
An overtime win over Denison on Jan. 3 was the first of four straight NCAC wins to start the new year, but the Big Red, who defeated Wittenberg three times in 2004-05, got back in the conference race with a 63-44 win over the Tigers on Wednesday. The Tigers maintain a one-game lead over preseason favorite Kenyon heading into a key on Saturday against Ohio Wesleyan at home in the HPER Center.
The Tigers have been getting consistent production from a trio of post players - junior Kathy Hittle (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) and sophomores Ali Rohlfs (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) and Katie Gregorevich (Northfield, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit). A year after earning first-team all-conference honors, Hittle has been everything to this year's team, leading in scoring (12.4 points per game), rebounds (9.1 per game), blocked shots (16) and steals (26). She had her best game in a Jan. 11 win over Earlham in which she led all players with a career-high 24 points to go along with 12 rebounds.
Rohlfs, who had a double-double in the loss to Denison, is averaging 8.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest in 2005-06. She is second on the team with 36 assists, against 33 turnovers as she regularly pops out to the top of the key on offense. Gregorevich has come off the bench in 14 of the first 15 games, and she is contributing 6.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per outing. Her big game came against Hiram on Jan. 7 when she had a 12-point, 15-rebound performance.