Senior Jessie Oram scores over Earlham's Tasha Merrill this afternoon at Philips Gym

Photo by Seth Binder '07

by Matt Holtwick

February 17, 2007 -- The Oberlin women’s basketball team defeated visiting Earlham College (Ind.) today, 69-63, in the North Coast Athletic Conference regular season finale for both teams. With the victory the Yeowomen head into post season play with a record of 7-18 (3-13 NCAC), while the Quakers fell to 4-21 (3-13 NCAC).

Oberlin got off to a quick start with a three by first-year Alicia Smith, stretching the lead to seven at 15-8 with 13:54 to go in the half, but Earlham fought back to cut the lead to three at the half, 30-27.

The second half was lone senior Jessie Oram’s time to shine. She scored 11 of her team high 17 points on 5-6 shooting from the field and had five rebounds in her final home game at Philips Gymnasium. With this spark, the Yeowomen went on a 16-7 run to push the lead to 12 on an Oram lay-up with 11:30 to go in the game. Earlham eventually pulled to within three with 1:33 left, but Oberlin made six of its last eight free-throws to ice the game. In the final half of play, the Yeowomen shot a scorching 13-18 (72%) in the second half.

Oram couldn’t have had a better outing in her home finale, finishing the game with a double-double. She scored a team-high 17 points, had 10 rebounds, five assists, and three steals in the winning effort. She also shot a solid 8-13 from the field in the contest.

The Yeowomen were also led by sophomore Alyssa Clark, who had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and sophomore Kira Rivera, who hit seven for 10 from the line. Oberlin also had contributions from first-year Alicia Smith, who scored 11 points, shooting 3-4 from behind the arc in 22 minutes of play, and first-year Monica Zell, who had three treys for nine points in 21 minutes of action.

The Quakers were led by first-year Shontavia Davis, scoring 20 points while shooting 9-12 from the free-throw stripe. Earlham also had a double-double effort from sophomore Tasha Merrill, scoring 15 points and snagging 10 rebounds.

The Yeowomen will now go on the road to begin the NCAC Women’s Basketball Tournament. They will play at Denison on Tuesday, February 20th with the tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. The first round of the tournament will be broadcast through Oberlin’s webcast - Click Here to listen.

Box Score | NCAC Playoff Bracket (.pdf) | Photographs