Wittenberg Stands Tall Against NCAC Foe OWU

Deleware, Ohio – Wittenberg women's basketball goes on the road to defeating the Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan 66-62. The Tigers were able to stop a three game skid in the conference after seven days off, suffering a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of Kenyon on their home court a week ago 48-45. Sophomore Becca Ziska (Brook Park, Ohio/Berea-Midpark) led the Tiger offense with 20 points, matching her season high dating back to the second contest of the season against Otterbein. With this win the Tigers move to 5-11 and 4-5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.

GAME BREAKDOWN

• The Tigers who had been struggling to get their shots to fall as of late took a 33-30 lead into the first half, shooting 41% from the field.
• Ziska knocked down 4-10 from beyond the arc in the first half, contributing 12 of her total 20 on the night.
• Sophomore Riley McDonald (Dexter, Michigan/Dexter) was back in action after missing the Kenyon game with an undisclosed injury, adding 10 points off the Tiger bench.
• Ziska and McDonald turned the game into a free throw shootout down the stretch to seal the win for the Tigers, after Ohio Wesleyan had fought to within two points with just under a minute to play.
• Junior Michelle Brunswick (Middletown, Ohio/Madison) led Wittenberg on the boards, pulling down eight rebounds to accompany her nine points.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Tigers saw their best shooting percentage, finishing 43% (26-60) since defeating Pitt-Greensburg.
• The Wittenberg bench outscored the Battling Bishops 23-6
• Wittenberg found their largest lead of nine points during the third quarter in a game that saw four ties and five lead changes.

KEY STATS

• Along with a 20 point night, Ziska dished out a season high four assists, three steals, and hauled in three rebounds.
• McDonald had a perfect night from both the field going 4-4 and the charity stripe 2-2, grabbing three rebounds and coming up with three steals of her own, along with a block.

FROM THE BENCH

• "What a super team effort with some great defense and free-throw shooting down the stretch to seal the win. We had nice offensive flow tonight and the work the team is putting in every day showed tonight," said Coach Jurewicz.
  

UP NEXT

• The Tigers will continue the road trip Saturday Jan. 30 to take on the Big Red of Denison at 1:00PM.

Written By: AJ Meyer