Tigers Overcome Early Deficit to Earn Conference Win

Springfield, OH - Wittenberg Women's Basketball hosted Wooster looking to bounce back from two straight conference losses and hoping to avenge a loss to the Fighting Scots earlier in the season. The beginning of the game did go the Tigers' way, but Wittenberg fought back to improve to 10-9 overall and 3-5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) with a hard-fought 64-53 win.

Just over five minutes into the game, the Tigers were facing a 14-0 deficit. A three-pointer from Hope Orders (Grove City, OH / Bishop Ready) finally broke the ice and jumpstarted the Tigers' offense, and it was followed by four points from Karley Moore (Tipp City, Bethel) in the quarter. Going into the second quarter, the Tigers still trailed, 18-11, but the lead was cut to one after a jump shot from Madi Barnett (Cincinnati, OH / Kings) halfway through the quarter, making it 18-17. Only a minute later, sophomore Molly Mossing (Cedarville, OH / Cedarville) made a free throw to tie the game at 20. In the last four minutes of the half, the Tigers only scored one more point as Wooster scored three, putting the Fighting Scots up, 23-21 at halftime.

Within the first minute of the second half, the Tigers had the game tied at 25, and after briefly trailing Karsen Karlblom (Crystal Lake, IL / Prairie Ridge) nailed a three to put Wittenberg back in the lead. Wooster answered once again, but Mossing scored nine straight points to move Wittenberg back into the lead. Moore added another two points, followed by a jumper from Mossing and another three-pointer from Orders to give the Tigers a 39-33 lead with three minutes to go in the third quarter.

As the Fighting Scots found the bottom of the net on a layup to cut into the lead, Karlblom found an open Orders for her third three of the game. Wittenberg held on to a five-point lead as they headed into the fourth quarter, 44-39. A minute into the final quarter, Wooster had cut the lead to two and after falling behind, were only three points back of the Tigers with under five minutes to play, 52-49. It was at that point the Tigers took control, going on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes and coming away with a double-digit win, 64-53, to avenge their loss to Wooster earlier in the season.

Team Leaders

• Mossing led the Tigers and both teams with 20 points off the bench and Moore was right behind with 17 points, being the only two Tigers in double figures
• Mossing also pulled down 14 rebounds for a double-double and new career high, while Moore grabbed seven.
• Barnett paced the team in assists with seven and Karlbom dished out four dimes.
• Mossing and Karlbom became the first two Tigers to surpass 200 points this season.

Team Comparison

• The Tigers shot 25-63 (39.7%) from the field, 6-19 (31.6%) from deep and 8-12 (66.7%) from the free throw line. Wittenberg grabbed 35 rebounds, dished out 16 assists and only turned the ball over 10 times. They capitalized on 14 points off turnovers, 13 second chance points, 34 points in the paint and 10 fast break points.
• Wooster shot 16-54 (29.6%) overall, 3-14 (21.4%) from long range and 18-25 (72%) from the charity stripe. The Fighting Scots logged 36 rebounds, 10 assists and committed 14 turnovers. They scored eight points off turnovers, 13 second chance points and had 24 points in the paint with only seven bench points.

Next Up

The Tigers will take on Kenyon at home on Wednesday, February 4 at 7:30 p.m. Wittenberg enters that game in fifth place in the NCAC standings, one game behind DePauw.

Written By: Grant Martin