Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College women's basketball team held the visiting Wittenberg University Tigers to 22 second-half points en route to a 56-52 come-from-behind victory at Philips Gym on Saturday afternoon.
Senior center
Olivia Canning spearheaded the Yeowomen effort with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Sophomore
Tyler Collins matched Canning with six rebounds to accompany her 10 points, while junior guard
Ally Driscoll chipped in 11 points to complete a trio in double figures. On the glass, junior
Maggie Gross led all rebounders with 12 boards to go along with six points.
The Yeowomen came out ice cold in the first quarter, hitting just two of 14 shots while the Tigers were an efficient 8-of-16 from the floor as they opened up a 20-8 lead after one period of action.
The Tigers advantage ballooned to as many as 16 points midway through the second quarter until Oberlin slowly started to chip away at the deficit. Wittenberg built up a 27-11 cushion with 4:12 left to expire in the half but the Yeowomen got within single digits before the halftime horn by closing the session with a 10-3 run to make it 30-21 at the break.
Following the intermission, Oberlin returned to the floor with a renewed sense of energy and immediately put the pressure back on the Tigers. After getting within five points on multiple occasions, a Canning finish in the paint made it just a 34-31 Wittenberg advantage with 3:30 left in the quarter. The frame would ultimately end on two
Cheyenne Arthur free throws, leaving the Yeowomen down just 38-37 with 10 minutes to go.
Wittenberg would score the first deuce of the fourth quarter but back-to-back buckets by Canning and Arthur gave the Yeowomen their first lead of the game since it was 2-0 in the early going. The Yeowomen would continue to build from there as a triple-hit from Collins and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Canning extended the lead out to 47-40 with 3:55 remaining.
A Sydney Mayle layup would stop a Tigers' scoring drought that lasted nearly six minutes and five points by Delaney Williams would get Wittenberg within one point. However, clutch jumpers from Gross and Driscoll bumped the cushion back out to five with under a minute to play.
In the closing seconds, the two foes would trade points which forced the Tigers to foul as they were down by two. Arthur would calmly step to the stripe and knock down both charity tosses to secure the win.
Oberlin shot 39.2 percent (20-of-51) from the field, while Wittenberg finished at 33.3 percent (19-of-57) after going 7-of-30 (23.3%) in the second half. OC also had a 40-30 edge on the glass.
The victory was the Yeowomen's second straight in the North Coast Athletic Conference as they moved to 3-2 in the league and 7-6 overall. Wittenberg returns home at 9-6 overall and 3-3 in the NCAC.
Oberlin will be back in action at home on Wednesday night against The College of Wooster. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.
