On Feb. 11, Pam Evans-Smith Arena was filled with families and friends that had come out to see the Wittenberg Men’s Basketball team take on Hiram and the women’s basketball team take on Oberlin. These games held a special place in the hearts of everyone as it was Senior Day.
The men’s basketball team honored their five graduating seniors, Cody Phillippi, Connor Hartnett, Jaelin Williams, Landon Hormann and Shane Edwards, before tip-off against the Hiram Terriers. The Tigers started off the game with all five seniors on the court, and with Hartnett making a layup in the first 16 seconds of the game. The team continued to work together, passing the ball well and knocking down layups. However, the Terriers weren’t going to just roll over and let it happen. Hiram put up a fight and made a layup with only 52 seconds left in the half, tying the game, 30-30.
In the second half, the Tigers came out ready to play. In the first 1:49 of the half, the Tigers had scored with Chad Roy, ‘18, and Hormann making a layup and two three-point shots between the teammates. Out of the eight three-point shots taken during the half, only two were missed. The Tigers won with an eight point lead, 76-68. Williams was the lead scorer for the night, racking up 18 points for the Tigers, followed by Phillippi and Hormann tying with twelve.
After the men’s game, the women’s basketball team battled it out against the Oberlin Yeowomen. After honoring their four seniors, Riley McDonald, Michelle Brunswick, Madison Linn and Bobbie Clayton, the Tigers came out determined to put in work.
The first quarter was a bit rough for the Tigers as they had to play a tough defense and offense to catch up to their opponents. The second quarter came bearing a close score between the Yeowomen and Tigers as they continuously passed the lead back and forth, both teams only leading by one or two points at a time. Alex Kiess, ‘19, and Linn both scored with layup after layup and jump-shot after jump-shot. At the half, the Tigers led by two points, courtesy of Brunswick’s saving layup with only six minutes left in the half making the score 31-29.
As the third quarter commenced, the Tigers and Yeowomen both came out with plans, each team scoring with jump-shots in the first minute and 22 seconds of the quarter. Haley Dannemiller, ‘18, Brunswick and Kiess all scored with jump-shots in the quarter, but the Yeowomen outscored the tigers 10-13 for the quarter. In the fourth quarter, both teams came out playing great defense, not allowing a score to happen until 3:43 into the quarter. Dannemiller put up four points, attempting to bridge the gap, but, the Tigers fell 50-53 as the final score. Brunswick led in points with a whopping 14, McDonald led with four assists and there were a total of nine team rebounds for the Tigers.
In the up and coming weeks, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams will be taking on Ohio Wesleyan and Wooster on the road. The men will have their last home game against Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
