Women's basketball plays tough, loses to Wittenberg

Oberlin women's basketball suffered their third defeat of the season at home last Saturday to conference rival Wittenberg 84-77. The loss, which lowers the Lady Crimson to 3-3, follows a dominating win last week over Allegheny that head coach Ann Gilbert described as "Our biggest win ever."

Despite the final seven-point span, Oberlin was never out of the game-never trailing by more than 10 and mounting comeback after comeback in the second half, including one that brought the Lady Crimson to within three with 2:28 left, at 75-72. However, neither did Oberlin control the pace of play, as the Lady Crimson did not lead in the game's last 13 minutes, tying only once and never able to convert short bursts into sustained periods of domination.

The game started on a positive note for Oberlin, as forward first-year Menna Demessie was fouled on a layup and successfully converted the three-point play to put the Lady Crimson on the board first at 3-0. The lead was short-lived, as the Tigers' Michelle Casey nailed a 20-footer from the left wing to even up the score.

Oberlin jumped back on top with another Demessie score, but then fell behind following a Jana Bostelman three-pointer and Mandy Stevens score leaving the score 8-5. Oberlin battled back into the lead, and the lead went back and forth for several minutes until Wittenberg seized the lead at 19-16 with a three-pointer, prompting Oberlin to call a time-out with 10:47 remaining. Wittenberg nailed another three right out of the time-out, starting a 17-10 run that saw their lead swell to 10 with 3:42 remaining in the half. The Lady Crimson battled back to within three, but a Tiger basket with seven seconds remaining in the half cemented a 42-37 half-time lead for Wittenberg.

Unlike in previous games, no Oberlin players went into the half in foul trouble, despite the highly physical nature of the game. The Tigers won one aspect of the physical game in the first half, out-rebounding Oberlin 21-16, but the Lady Crimson out-rebounded Wittenberg viciously in the second half, 31-21. However, Oberlin squandered those extra chances by shooting just 35.6 percent from the field in the second half, compared to 42.1 percent in the first; Wittenberg shot 44.4 percent in the first and 39.3 percent in the second half.

The second half began with promise for the Lady Crimson, as they went on an 8-2 run to take the lead at 45-44. The crowd, which had been vocal in the first half as well, exploded when center junior Shakila Williams hit two free throws to give Oberlin the lead. The teams battled back and forth with one-point leads until an Oberlin time-out with 12:30 left and the score 50-49 in favor of Wittenberg. Oberlin never again gained the lead, though they did draw even at 58 with 10:14 remaining on a three-pointer from forward junior Ikeya Hillman.

Guard first-year Nzinga Broussard led all scorers in establishing an NCAC season-high with 28 points, going 11 of 18 from the field, five of six from the foul line, pulling down 12 rebounds and taking in six assists and six steals, while playing all 40 minutes. Demessie poured in 21 points, good for second among all scorers, while pulling down nine rebounds in 39 minutes of action. Forward first-year Raegan Johnson was the only other Oberlin player who scored more than three points, scoring 18 points and bringing in 10 rebounds in 35 minutes.

Broussard is second in the NCAC in scoring, averaging 17.5 points per game, and Demessie is 11th with 12.7 points per game. Broussard also leads the NCAC in steals, averaging 4.5 per game-a feat made more impressive by the fact that the next closest player averages only three steals per game. Forward sophomore Heather Barbee leads the Lady Crimson with 7.5 rebounds per game, in a tie with Broussard.

Broussard also leads Oberlin in field goal percentage, at 47.6 percent, closely followed by Raegan Johnson at 47.3 percent. Hillman leads the Lady Crimson from beyond the three-point arc, shooting 40 percent. Among players with more than six free throw attempts, Demessie leads in efficiency, at 78.6 percent, followed by Williams at 75 percent.

The Lady Crimson look to continue their winning ways next Saturday at Earlham College.