Women’s Basketball fell to Oberlin, 71-54, on the road last Saturday, Feb. 22 in their last regular season game.
The Tigers battled Oberlin early in the game as neither had team established a decisive lead in the first quarter. The Tigers kept the score within one point for much of the first quarter. Oberlin capitalized on five Tiger turnovers in the first quarter alone however, and closed the period with a 19-16 lead.
Oberlin controlled the second quarter with an iron fist as they pulled out a 29-21 lead with 5:21 left in the half. The Tigers field goals often came up short as Oberlin out shot them 7-1 in the second quarter. The Tigers spent a lot of time perfecting their free throws, earning nine points, as they took advantage of Oberlin’s six personal fouls in the second quarter. The Tigers would go to the locker room trailing Oberlin, 39-27.
The red and white returned from the locker room unchanged as they committed a turnover and personal foul within the first 25 seconds of the second half. Riley Culver (’20) placed the Tigers on the board in the third quarter as she completed a layup from the paint. Oberlin led the Tigers, 40-29. The Tigers continued to battle as they recorded 29 total rebounds for the day. Abigail Yunker (’21) would lead the Tigers in assists, accounting for three of six total. The Tigers closed the third quarter trailing Oberlin, 58-43.
The fourth quarter opened with a bang for the Tigers as Culver and Delaney Williams (’21) scored on layups in the opening minutes. Williams stood as the Tigers leading scorer for the fourth quarter, completing five points on five field goal attempts. Korynne Berner (’20) stood as the Tigers leading scorer for the entire match, with 18 points on five completed field goals and seven free throws. Head Coach Kelly Mahlum also gave freshman Mone’t Allen (’23) playing time in the fourth quarter, as she played for little over 90 seconds and earned two points at the line.
Oberlin’s offensive production stagnated in the fourth quarter as they missed every shot in the last three minutes allowing the Tigers to claw back some dignity in an otherwise blowout loss. The Tigers would fall to Oberlin, 71-54. The Tigers were outshot 24-16 from the floor. Oberlin also created more scoring opportunities as they outrebounded the Tigers, 39-29. The Tigers failed to compete from beyond the arc, as they only drained three of their 15 three-pointers, while Oberlin sank eight of their 16 attempts.
Women’s Basketball will face Oberlin College again on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the NCAC Women’s Basketball tournament. The Tigers are currently ranked third in the NCAC, behind the Tigers of DePauw University and the Big Red of Denison University. The Tigers ranked below the Big Red due to splitting their series with Ohio Wesleyan University. If the Tigers win on Tuesday, they will likely head to Greencastle, IN to complete in the Semifinals on Friday, Feb. 28 against the Big Red or the Ladies of Kenyon College.
