OBERLIN, Ohio - Oberlin College women's basketball continued their North Coast Athletic Conference gauntlet, hosting the Hiram College Terriers in the first installment of a women's-men's Saturday afternoon double header, using a big second half to down the Terriers 55-35.
Struggling to find an offensive rhythm early on, the Yeowomen responded over the final 20 minutes of play to get back to .500 overall at 7-7 and earn their first NCAC victory of the 2016 campaign. The Oberlin women now sit at 1-4 in league play.
The Oberlin offense sputtered in the first half, hitting on just 7-of-21 (33.3%) from the field including an 0-7 effort from three-point range, while the Terriers struck on 10-of-29 (34.5%) shots to take a 21-14 advantage into the break. Hiram would gain their largest lead of the contest at the 4:03 mark in the second quarter, but that would soon disappear.
The Hiram's lead was expunged in the third quarter as the Yeowomen got hot offensively and went on a 16-4 run, erasing the deficit and taking a 30-25 lead.
The Yeowomen's second half scoring outburst continued into the final quarter, with
Kerry Jenkins' crew opening on a 6-0 run in the initial two minutes. As Oberlin continued to find a way to hit key shots, Hiram struggled to score.
The Yeowomen closed the fourth quarter outscoring Hiram 25-10 and 41-14 in the second half to cap off the comeback and cruise to a comfortable 20-point victory.
The second half scoring clinic was in big part because of the work of first-year center
Olivia Canning in the paint. The lengthy, 6-foot, 2-inch Sudbury, Massachusetts native, pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds, while bucketing eight points on 3-of-9 (33.3%) shooting from the floor and knocking 2-of-4 (50.0%) from the line. She also tallied a game-high eight blocks, marking a another career-high in the win.
Canning had significant help down low as
Abby Andrews collected her second double-double of the year with 13 rebounds and 12 points, duplicating her previous double-double performance that came against Kalamazoo. Andrews' 12 points came off of 5-of-8 (62.5%) shooting with two hits coming from the charity stripe.
The Oberlin women's leading scorer
Lindsey Bernhardt led all scorers in the win with 21 points coming off of 5 -of-11 (45.5%) shooting including 9-of-10 from line to accompany her two rebounds and two assists.
Second-year
Tyler Parlor was the final Yeowomen to finish in double-figures with 10 points on 4-of-6 (66.6%) shooting, while hauling in seven boards and two steals.
With big help from Canning and Andrews, the Yeowomen simply outworked the Terriers in the paint, out rebounding Hiram 51-27, with 13 Oberlin points coming off of second-chance opportunities.
The Yeowomen will take the momentum of this win to the College of Wooster to take on the Fighting Scots on Wednesday, January 13. Tipoff from the Scot Center is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
