Delaware, Ohio – The Oberlin College women's basketball team earned a hard-fought 55-48 victory at Ohio Wesleyan University on Wednesday afternoon.
Oberlin used a balance scoring attack to snap its four-game skid as six different players had six or more points in the win. Senior
Olivia Canning led the charge with 13 points on an efficient 6-of-8 shooting performance. Sophomore
Tyler Collins finished a point shy of a double-double as she ripped down 11 boards to accompany her nine points.
Ally Driscoll and
Maggie Gross chipped in eight points each to aid the Oberlin effort.
The Yeowomen led by four points on two separate occasions in the first quarter but ultimately settled for a 15-15 tie after one period of action. OWU opened up a six-point lead early in the second quarter until a layup by Collins at the 6:26 mark stopped the Bishops' run. A long-range jumper by
Cheyenne Arthur with 1:12 left to expire in the half had the Yeowomen to within three, but a Tia Karras jumper in the closing seconds gave the Bishops at 26-21 cushion at the intermission.
After going down by as many as seven points, the Yeowomen started their comeback bid midway through the third quarter. A put-back layup by Collins tied the game at 33-33 and moments later the Yeowomen would take their first lead of the second half at 37-36 on a traditional 3-point play by
Jasmine Sorrells.
Oberlin carried a 40-39 margin into the fourth quarter and would never surrender the lead over the final 10 minutes of play. A mini 5-0 spurt that featured four points from Driscoll increased the gap out to 49-43 with just under three minutes left to play.
The Bishops continued to battle to the final whistle as a Karras 3-pointer cut the lead in half with 32 seconds to go but the Yeowomen would preserve the win by hitting four free throws down the stretch.
Oberlin shot 43.5 percent (20-of-46) compared to the Bishops' 29.9 percent (20-of-67) but OWU was able to stay close thanks to 20 Yeowomen turnovers that allowed them to hoist 21 more shot attempts.
Oberlin evened up its record at 6-6 overall and 2-2 in the NCAC, while the Bishops suffered their first conference blemish of the year, dropping to 3-1 in the league and 8-5 overall.
The Yeowomen return home to host Wittenberg University on Saturday afternoon. Tip-time is set for 4 p.m.
