Oberlin, Ohio - The Oberlin College women's basketball team put forth a valiant effort against the visiting Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops on Saturday afternoon at Philips Gym, but in the end it wasn't enough as OWU left town with a 63-54 victory over the Yeowomen.
Junior
Camille Zinaich led Oberlin by notching her fourth double-double of the year with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Senior
Alyson Jefferson chipped in nine points and eight rebounds, while rookie
Krystal Montas added six points, eight boards, and four blocks in 25 minutes of work.
The Yeowomen trailed 54-44 early in the fourth quarter, but used an 8-0 run to trim the deficit all the way down to just two with 5:27 left to expire. Unfortunately, that would be as close as Oberlin would get as the Bishops refocused their defensive effort and held the home side to only two more points the rest of the way while pulling away for the comfortable victory.
The Bishops' pressure frustrated the Yeowomen throughout the 40-minute affair, forcing 23 turnovers that led to 20 points. It was the second highest total of giveaways the Yeowomen have this season only to their 25 miscues against Chatham back on December 4.
Oberlin also struggled to slow down NCAC Player of the Year candidate Kasey Schipfer as she poured in 21 points to go along with 18 rebounds and four steals.
OWU led 9-2 in the early going but the Yeowomen would level count at 9-9 on a
Gina Lombard jumper at the 5:22 mark of the opening quarter. After the Bishops made it a two-possession game, a 3-pointer from
Lily Najmulski had the gap down to one at 15-14 but the Bishops would ultimately extend their cushion out to five, 21-16, as the period came to a close.
After going 7-of-13 (53.8%) from the floor in the first frame, the Yeowomen would cool off in the second with only four makes on 12 shots, allowing the visitors to build up a 38-26 halftime advantage.
The Yeowomen would find themselves trailing 46-32 at the midway point of the third quarter, but wouldn't go away without a fight, shrinking a 16-point differential down to eight over the final four minutes of the session. The spurt featured a triple-hit from
Anora Lee and five points from Zinaich that made it 52-44 OWU heading into the fourth quarter.
While Oberlin used that closing momentum early on in the fourth, it was never able to fully get over the hump as the Bishops went on to finish off the wire-to-wire win.
OWU hoisted 25 more shots than Oberlin, connecting on 27-of-76 attempts with a 35.5 percent clip, while Oberlin checked in at 41.2 percent with 21 baskets on 51 shots.
The Bishops, who out-scored OC 38-22 in the paint, are now 15-4 overall and 6-2 in the NCAC. Oberlin fell back to 12-7 and 3-5 in league play.
The Yeowomen will look to halt their three-game slide on Wednesday night when they travel to Kenyon College. Tip-time is set for 8 p.m.
