The conference season almost started out on a high for the women’s basketball team in its away game at the College of Wooster, where it dropped a heartbreaker 69-72. Coming off the 50-point loss to Baldwin-Wallace College on November 27, the team looked to regain its confidence with a strong performance.

The Yeowomen started off at an intense pace as they were out to make sure that Wooster’s home court advantage would not be too strong. With six minutes gone in the game, Oberlin was up by seven points at 25-18. Senior center Roneisha Kinney and sophomore guard Alicia Smith were on top of their games from the onset as the team executed plays effectively. Kinney totaled 24 points on the night and 11 rebounds while Smith scored 14 to go along with her five steals. Despite the strong start, Wooster ended the half on a high, cutting the Oberlin lead to two at 32-30.

The second half was an entirely different story. Things started out even, but Wooster got the edge after five minutes, leading 43-41. Wooster’s first-year guard Taylor Keegan helped spark a 16-2 run to increase the two-point lead to 16. At that point, Oberlin junior guard Alyssa Clark stepped up, leading the Yeowomen to an 18-4 run as they cut the lead down to two points with four and half minutes left in the game.

The Yeowomen fought hard from there as they tried to gain an edge, but their work was to no avail. The teams matched one another shot for shot as Wooster went on to win the game 72-69. Four Wooster players scored in double figures on the night as the team improved its record to 2-3 on the season. For Oberlin, sophomore Liz Thompson marked her return to the team with 11 points and seven rebounds, promising larger contributions in future games.

The team was disappointed with the result, as it had expected to claim the victory after a good performance in the first period. Junior Amanda Van Allen expressed her frustration, saying: “We were really disappointed to have lost against Wooster. We have learned a lot from that game though, and I’m sure we’ll do better against Earlham.”

At Earlham on Thursday, Dec. 8, Oberlin again went into the intermission on top at 26-22. Led by Kinney, who had eight points in the first period, the team put itself on track to claim its first conference victory of the season on the road. Earlham came into the second half with great energy, executing effectively on offense and maintaining composure on defense. The Yeowomen were unable to match this level of play and ended up conceding 54 points in the half on the way to a 54-76 loss.

In her second game for the team, Thompson recorded 13 points and nine rebounds. Kinney led the team once again in scoring with 15 points, while Smith and Clark were only able to contribute six points apiece.

In its last home contest of the 2007 calendar year, Oberlin hosted La Roche College in Philips gym on Tuesday, Dec. 11. As in its previous two games, Oberlin started out as the better team as it jumped out to an early lead and went into the locker room in front at 17-16. After Clark opened the scoring in the second period, a lapse in concentration in the Oberlin camp resulted in a 12-0 run from the visitors as they went out to a 28-19 lead.

Oberlin fought back but could not catch up as La Roche claimed a 52-41 victory. For the third game in a row, Oberlin had lost despite being ahead at the intermission. First-year Katie Thompson led the Yeowomen with 11 points, followed by Clark, who had nine points and nine assists on the night. With that loss, the Yeowomen stand at 1-6 for the season and 0-2 in conference play. 

The team plays next on December 14 at Bluffton University in its final game before winter break.