Yeowomen falter in two conference games
By Jamie Frankel
The Oberlin College womens basketball team traveled to Richmond, Indiana
this past weekend to avenge an early season last second loss to conference power Earlham College.
For a team that quite possibly might be the biggest surprise in the conference this season to date,
Earlham College has proven it belongs in the upper echelon of the league, compiling an impressive
7-4 mark thus far.
Like many seasons before, the North Coast Athletic Conference has turned out to be highly competitive
with upsets occurring almost every time teams take the floor.
While Earlham has surprised some people this season, Oberlin has struggled to close out games.
In the Yeowomens first conference game of the season against the more experienced Quakers,
a ten-point late second half lead completely evaporated when Earlham hit a shot as time expired
to secure a come-from-behind two-point victory.
After the two-point loss to Earlham, some players vented their feelings.
I took it very personal. I felt really bad, sophomore guard Karen Hahn said after the
last second loss to Earlham earlier this season.
In more recent games for Oberlin, inaccurate shooting from both the field and the foul line has
led to some disappointing outcomes for a well-coached and hard- working team.
This weekends game versus Earlham College turned out to be a defensive struggle.
After shooting 20.7 percent from the field in the first half, Oberlin found out once again that
it is rather hard to come back in a game, especially in the conference and on the road.
Despite poor shooting, Oberlin managed to keep the game close in the first half, trailing 25-19
at halftime.
More times than not, a poor shooting day leads to frustration and mental lapses on both sides of
the ball. While the game was never a blowout, Oberlin could not overcome 22 turnovers along with
19.6 percent shooting for the game. Oberlin lost 55-40.
The one highlight for the game was that foul shooting, which had been problematic, was 88.9 percent
against Earlham.
With the loss, Oberlin slid to 6-12 on the season and 2-8 in NCAC play while Earlham moved to 12-5
and 7-3 in the conference.
Sophomore guard Cristina Briboneria commented on how the team let some of the late leads slip away.
We start to get relaxed. We think we are already going to win, she said.
On Tuesday night, Oberlin College played host to the College of Wooster in a clash of evenly matched
teams.
While the game was dominated by Oberlin from the get-go, Woosters experience and depth led
to problems late in the game for Oberlin.
With a 32-25 lead at the half, Oberlin quickly opened a ten-point lead in the second half.
The Yeowomen never put Wooster away, however, which came back to haunt them when, with a late shot
in regulation to tie the game at 57, Wooster pushed Oberlin to overtime.
In the extra period, Wooster dominated the tired Yeowomen for a 63-59 victory.
Senior and recent 1000-point honoree Malisha Richardson leads the team in both points scored and
rebounds with 18.6 and 7.7 respectively.
Ohio native Hahn leads the team averaging 2.8 assists while Briboneria leads the team with 2.8
steals per game.
Oberlin College faces Denison University today, in an important game for positioning in the conference
standings. Denison sits up top in the conference and Oberlin understands it must defend its home
court.
We always have a chance to win, Briboneria said.
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