Greencastle, IN – The Oberlin College women's basketball team earned its first-ever berth to the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship game, knocking off the second-seeded Kenyon College Ladies, 51-40, on Friday night at Neal Fieldhouse on the campus of DePauw University.
 
The Yeowomen, who were seeded third, will take on No. 4 Wittenberg University tomorrow at 4 p.m. Earlier in the evening, the Tigers of Wittenberg upset the host Tigers of DePauw, 72-68.
 
Alex Stipano led the Yeowomen with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds as she posted the first double-double of her career. The junior from Alexandria, Virginia, did most of her scoring damage at the free throw line where she was 7-of-8. Abby Andrews added 12 points and nine boards, while fellow post-mate Olivia Canning matched her with 12 points.
 
Oberlin jumped out to an 8-2 lead as the Yeowomen held the Ladies to just one field goal for the first 7:30 of the game, but Kenyon would settle in to tie the contest at 8-8 after one period.
 
The Kenyon surge would continue into the start of the second quarter as the Ladies pushed the margin out to 12-8 until a fastbreak layup from Andrews stopped the 10-0 run and ended a scoreless drought that lasted nearly six minutes for the Yeowomen.
 
The score was tied at 14 with 3:19 left to play in the opening half, but Oberlin was finally able to create some separation as Tyler Parlor cashed in a 3-pointer from the near wing and Andrews followed with a slashing layup as Oberlin ultimately settled for a 21-17 halftime advantage after the two teams combined to shoot just 11-of-55 (20%) over the first 20 minutes of play.
 
Early in the third quarter, Oberlin extended its lead out to 28-19, but the Ladies wouldn't go away quietly. A Cheyenne Arthur triple-hit made it a 33-25 Yewomen advantage with 3:19 left to play in the quarter, but Kenyon closed the session on a 6-0 spurt to cut the deficit down to just a deuce heading into the fourth quarter at 33-31.
 
The final frame started with a 9-0 Yeowomen burst to balloon the lead out to 42-31. The run featured four straight points from Canning, a 3-pointer from Stipano, and a power finish in the paint from Parlor.
 
The Ladies would get within eight two times, but a left-handed finish in the lane from Canning extended the Yeowomen lead out to 46-36 with 2:59 left to play and Oberlin would maintain a double-digit cushion the rest of the way.
 
The Yeowomen came into the game having outscored its opponents by 90 points in the fourth quarter this season and tonight was no different as they bested the Ladies 18-9 in the period. Oberlin's top-tier defense was also on display, holding Kenyon to just 22.6 percent shooting with 14 makes on 62 shots, which included a 1-of-13 showing from 3-point land.
 
Oberlin also struggled from the field, finishing 14-of-49 (28.6%), but made up for it from the free throw line where they went 19-of-24.
 
Fans will be able to watch tomorrow's championship game courtesy of the DePauw University video portal. Tip-time is set for 4 p.m.