Oberlin women’s basketball seniors Nicole Burford and Cristina Briboneria triumphed in their final home game with a win on Wednesday against Ursuline College. The Yeowomen’s leg up on the Arrows was omnipresent, although they were often either tied or just ahead.

Oberlin was up by seven points at halftime, which carried into the second half until Ursuline slipped into the lead twice, once with seven minutes and once with 5:26 left on the clock. However, their last salty taste of victory was spit out at the 1:06 mark, when Briboneria brought Oberlin a lead they would ride to the end with a huge three point shot. Oberlin won the game 74-69.

Briboneria, who shone in the game with 25 points and 10 rebounds, also hit the record books. She passed Malisha Richardson to become the third-highest scorer in Yeowomen history with 1197 points.

Sophomore Jessie Oram and junior Meg Reitz tied for second in scoring with 16 points each, which was a career high for Reitz. Reitz commended the Yeowomen’s togetherness in the end to secure the victory.

“We picked up our defense intensity for the last three to four minutes of the game,” she said. “[We] got a bunch of stops and defensive rebounds and key possessions at the end of the game.” In praise of the seniors she added, “And Cristina and Nicole hit their free throws like they always do.”

Coach Christa Champion affirmed her seniors’ intensity in this important game. “Over the past few weeks, in close wins against Wooster, Hiram and now Ursuline, Cristina and Nicole have proven themselves to be game-winners and two of the best players in the conference,” she said. “Our last home game gave the seniors a chance to show how much they [and the team] have grown.”

The women will look ahead to Saturday’s match-up against Earlham to solidify the progress this team has made.

“We really want to win on Saturday because it’ll mean double digit wins this season,” said sophomore Quintetta Stubblefield. The Yeowomen’s record currently stands at 9-15 (4-11 in NCAC play).

The women left Philips gym with “Whose house, our house!” ringing in the ears of their joy-crazed fans. This season the Yeowomen are 7-5 at home.

“It was another great finish to an exciting game,” Champion commented. With postseason on the close horizon, Champion hopes to recycle that sentence more than once in the coming week.