Springfield, Ohio — The fifth-seeded Oberlin College Yeowomen battled but ultimately fell to the the fourth-seeded Wittenberg University Tigers, 70-64, in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals Tuesday evening.
Senior captain
Alex Stipano led all scorers with 17 points, with four 3-pointers. Her classmate
Olivia Canning was the only other Oberlin player in double figures as she scored 10 points, finishing her career with 1,042 points and a school record 346 blocks.
Leo Ross,
Maggie Gross and
Jasmine Sorrells would each chip in eight points each for the Crimson and Gold, with Sorrells adding a game-high 12 rebounds off the bench.
The Tigers created the first significant advantage in the contest as two Abigail Crum free throws made it a 16-9 Wittenberg lead with 3:59 left in the opening period. Oberlin responded with a 13-2 run that gave them a three-point lead, 22-19. The burst was capped by two Gross free throws with less than a minute left in the period, but Wittenberg would hit all four of its free throw opportunities within the final 49 ticks to reclaim the lead, 23-22, heading into the second quarter.
In a low scoring second period, one of Stipano's three's with 3:57 on the clock gave the Yeowomen its largest lead of the half, 31-27. After the make, the Crimson and Gold would only score four more points the rest of the half. The cold spell allowed the Tigers to cut the Oberlin lead to 35-34 as the Tigers' response was capped by a Delaney Williams' layup off a backcourt Yeowomen turnover right before the halftime horn.
After Wittenberg scored on their first two possessions of the third, the Yeowomen answered with nine straight points to take a 44-38 lead just three minutes in. The Tigers pulled back within two with 5:18 left in the quarter but Oberlin answered the Wittenberg rebuttal by extending its lead back out to seven, 52-45, on Ross jumper. Unfortunately, a pair of Yeowomen turnovers would once again allow the Tigers to get within one, 52-51, setting up a close finish.
The Tigers kept their momentum from the third quarter to take a 57-54 lead, but an old fashion three-point play by Canning would turn the tides back towards the Yeowomen. The play kickstarted a 7-0 run that was capped by a
Tyler Collins' bucket, but Wittenberg would come back again as they did all evening.
Wittenberg tied the game up at 61 with 4:12 left in the game and built its lead out to five, 67-62, with 1:44 left. A mental mistake by the Tigers in the final minute allowed Oberlin to get within one score after Gross made two more freebies to make it 67-63 the deficit forced the Yeowomen to foul.
Wittenberg's Williams went 1-for-2 from the line, making it 68-64 with 18 seconds left for the Yeowomen. Unfortunately, Oberlin was unable to get a quality shot off and Wittenberg would ice the game at the foul line on its next possession.
Free throw shooting ended up being the difference as the Yeowomen made just 17 of its 29 (58.6%) charity shots, while the Tigers were 21-of-33 (63.6%). The Yeowomen struggled shooting, as they only connected on 20 of the 61 shots they hoisted (32.8%), including a 7-of-28 (25%) showing from the 3-point land. Wittenberg finished the night 23-of-52 (44.2%) from the field, scoring 34 of their points in the paint.
Oberlin finishes the year 15-11 overall and 10-6 in conference play. The Tigers advance to the NCAC semifinals where they will face the top-seeded and No. 19-nationally ranked DePauw University Tigers who defeated Allegheny 73-40 Tuesday evening.
The Yeowomen will bid farewell to NCAC Champion seniors Canning and Stipano, but will return the rest of the team for the 2019-20 season.
