Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College women's basketball team took the 16
th-ranked Tigers of DePauw University to the brink but ultimately fell just short, finishing on the wrong end of a 51-48 scoreline on Saturday afternoon at Philips Gym.
The Yeowomen trailed 47-39 with 6:23 left to play in the game but four points from
Maggie Gross coupled with a 3-pointer from
Cheyenne Arthur shrunk the deficit down to just one point at the 2:32 mark of the fourth quarter. However, 45 seconds later a critical technical foul by Oberlin would send Maya Howard to the line for a pair of freebies to push the lead back out to three points.
A pair of free throws
Olivia Canning had the Yeowomen within one point once again with 47 ticks left to play. On the ensuing possession, Howard would miss a jumper but the offensive rebound was secured by the Tigers, which forced the Yeowomen to foul. After Howard cashed in another pair of charity tosses, the Yeowomen had one last chance to tie it but the Tigers forced Oberlin to settle for a desperation 3-point attempt by Canning that was off the mark.
Arthur led the Yeowomen charge by matching a career-high with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, which included a 3-for-4 performance from 3-point land. The junior from Atlanta, Georgia, has now scored in double-figures in five straight games. Gross notched her second double-double in the last three games, posting 10 points and 10 rebounds to accompany a career-best five blocked shots.
Jasmine Sorrells also provided a spark off the bench with eight points on an efficient 4-of-6 shooting.
The Yeowomen trailed 12-8 after the opening period and were later facing a 20-12 deficit in the second quarter but would use a 10-2 run to tie the game at 22-22 with 4:09 left in the first half. Oberlin used a balance attack to get back in the game as five different Yeowomen scored during the spurt.
The Tigers took a slim 27-26 lead into the locker room at halftime; however, it was the Yeowomen who built up a 34-30 advantage midway through the third quarter. Unfortunately, the Tigers answered back with a 10-0 response run to go up by six before Arthur capped the third-quarter scoring with one of her three triples to keep Oberlin within striking distance.
Oberlin shot 35.7 percent (20-of-56) from the floor while holding the normally high-powered Tigers to just 33.9 percent (20-of-59).
The loss dropped the Yeowomen to 11-8 overall and 6-4 in the NCAC. The Tigers improved to 16-3 and 10-1 in league action.
The Yeowomen will look to sweep the season series against the Ohio Wesleyan University on Wednesday night when they host the Bishops at 6 p.m.
