March 28, 2024

As the season continues to change, so too do the seasons in the sports world. As the fall sports teams, who are in contention and making their championship runs finish up their seasons, winter sports are gearing up to showcase their talents this season. As volleyball winds down, Pam Evans Arena will stay busy, featuring Wittenberg women’s hoops.
“We are determined to consistently compete against all of the teams in the NCAC, especially with Depauw, the defending National Champions,” said senior wing Amber Rice.
Last season the Lady Tigers finished with an overall record of 13-14, and 8-8 in North Coast Athletic Conference play. The Tigers started slowly last season by winning two of their first five games. Eventually, the Tigers caught fire and went on a four game win streak, including winning both of their games in the Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic; hosted by Wittenberg University December 28-29, 2012. The streak was brought to an end with a loss to Denison in game 13 of the season. From there the Tigers enjoyed wins and suffered losses, and were able to participate in the NCAC tournament. The Tigers took advantage of their opportunity and shocked Denison by defeating the Big Red 69-65 in the quarterfinals of the North Coast tournament.  However, the Tigers fell short of making it to the finals when they lost to the 2013-13 eventual National Champion Depauw Tigers in the semi-final round of the tournament.
“I’m looking forward to the successes and strides we will make as a team. I am also looking forward to the fast pace this team will bring to every game,” said junior guard Enri Small.
Though the season did not turn out as well as some hoped, valuable experience was gained from the team’s wins and losses. Fortunately, the Lady Tigers have a slew of women who saw action last season, and are returning to continue their quest for greatness. The Lady Tigers return 14 letter winners, and two who received all-conference honors this past season. Small earned second team All-NCAC by helping the Tigers find success last season. As a sophomore Small was the team’s leading scorer. She averaged 11.9 points per game, which ranked eighth in the conference. Small also did a good job of getting on the glass, and was a solid rebounder for the Tigers. Small was the second leading rebounder on the team by averaging 5.4 boards a game. Junior post, Karen Daniel-Hamberg, led the team in rebounds, pulling in 5.7 boards a game for the lady Tigers.
Rice, also earned second team All-NCAC honors after her 2012-13 performance.  Rice assisted the Tigers last season by averaging 10.6 points per game; ranked 10th in the conference, and shot 86.6 percent from the charity strike which ranked second the conference last season. Additionally, Rice led the team in three point shooting by making 32.7 percent of her three balls, which ranked 9th in the conference. Rice is one of two seniors on the women’s basketball team; guard, Kiley McCollough is her partner in crime.
With a large number of competitive players returning, the Tigers have been picked to finish second in the North Coast conference behind the 2012-13 National champion Depauw Tigers. The ladies are ready to begin their journey to the mountain.
“To be picked second in the conference is awesome. We have experience to lead us. We are excited to prove to everyone that we are one of the best teams in the conference,” said Harlamos.

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