Although the women’s basketball team lost its last game of the season — the North Coast Athletic Conference quarterfinal — against Wittenberg University with a score of 49-79, sophomore forward Liz Thompson stood out by scoring 13 points, a career high.

Thompson also had a game high of three steals. Senior co-captain Roneisha Kinney said, “Liz Thompson played a phenomenal game. She was courageous. She played excellent defense, knocked down key shots and battled despite being an undersized post. I was extremely proud of her.” According to Head Coach Christa Champion, “Thompson demonstrated confidence in her shots and was strong on defense.”

Prior to the February 26 game, Champion’s strategy was to have the sixth-seeded Yeowomen “show more aggression, shoot open ‘threes’ and attack the basket the whole game. Our goal is to hit 30 open ‘threes.’” She said, “We normally average about fifteen.” With the team hitting approximately one third of their three-pointers, these points — when converted to two-pointers — equate to making 48 percent of the baskets inside the paint.

During their 52-68 loss against Wittenberg in the regular season, “some of the shooters were missing, so they stopped [shooting],” said Champion. “We have to do things different [this time] and pick the things we’re best at. It’s [taking more three point shots] a calculated risk in our favor.”

This gamble held the team together through the half, when Oberlin was down by four points. The score was 24-28. According to Champion, with this half-time finish, the Yeowomen came the closest they have come all year to beating a team that ended its regular season in one of the top four positions.

This accomplishment may have reflected the team’s growth. Kinney said, “The team improved in every aspect imaginable. As a young team, we learned how to control the tempo of the game, how to set each other up for success and how to play as a unit, not five bodies on the court.”

However, Wittenberg expanded its lead in the second half by scoring 51 points to Oberlin’s 25. Kinney said, “The game was exciting. It was great to compete with Wittenberg for the semi-finals. Everyone was psyched and gave their best effort.”

In addition to being the last game of the season, this was Kinney’s and senior Valerie Cain’s final match in crimson and gold. To Kinney, standout memories include “the conference win over Wooster…. In that game, everyone believed and battled hard. After losing a close game to Wooster the first time, beating them was great. It was a true team effort.”

She added, “As a captain, I learned that leading a team wasn’t about scoring a million points, but working hard in practice every day, listening to the needs of my teammates and motivating and encouraging my teammates no matter the situation.”