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OWU avoids Wittenberg sweep, into NCAC Women's Basketball final
The old adage that it’s hard to beat a team three times in a season rang true once again. Ohio Wesleyan got revenge for two losses earlier in the season and defeated Wittenberg 61-48 in semifinal number one of the NCAC Women’s Basketball Tournament at Neal Fieldhouse Friday evening.
The Tigers came out shooting strong in the opening quarter, hitting 7-of-12 shots and three from behind the arc. The Bishops were able to remain in contact early by shooting 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. Wittenberg led after one 18-15.
In the second quarter, the defense clamped down a bit. The Bishops, still trailing by three, moved in front after Lauren Denison hit a pair of three pointers.
Wittenberg went ice cold, scoring just seven points in the quarter and shooting a mere 23 percent from the field.
OWU was not able to take advantage and the Tigers’ Kelsey Ragan hit a late three to tie it up. The Bishops then got an old-fashioned three-point play from Macy Miller to take a three-point lead to the half at 28-25.
The game really turned in the third quarter. With Wittenberg leading by one, the Bishops went on a 13-2 scoring run to put a little distance between the teams as OWU took a 10-point lead. The spurt was aided by Kasey Shipfer and Alyssa Griner, who combined for nine of the 13 points.
The Bishops were able to put the game out of reach early in the final quarter. An 8-0 run took OWU out to a 15-point lead and the Bishops would go on and advance to the NCAC final, winning 61-48.
OWU was able to take advantage of the battle of the boards, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds, and were +13 on the boards overall.
Shipfer finished with 22 points to lead the Bishops and Griner added 14 of her own.
| OWU (22-5) | 15 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 61 |
| Wittenberg (19-7) | 18 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 48 |
Team Stats
| ... | OWU | WITT |
| FGM/A | 26/57 | 19/53 |
| FG% | 46% | 36% |
| 3ptM/A | 2/8 | 6/19 |
| 3pt% | 25% | 32% |
| FTM/A | 7/8 | 4/7 |
| FT% | 88% | 57% |
| Rebounds | 38 | 25 |
| Assists | 15 | 12 |
| Turnovers | 16 | 18 |
| Steals | 11 | 7 |
| Blocks | 3 | 3 |
| Fouls | 14 | 13 |
Individual Stats
| Scoring - (OWU) Schipfer 22, Griner 14, Denison 8, Miller 7, Ross 6, Homan 4; (W) Simpson 13, Burton 9, Ragan 6, Baker 6, Wolshire 5, Cash 5, Gaines-Burns 3 |
Rebouding - (OWU) SChipfer 11, Miller 9, Griner 4, Ross 3, Homan 3, Denison 3; (W) Burton 11, Simpson 5, Cash 3, Ragan 2, Gaines-Burns 1, Barnett 1
Assists - (OWU) Homan 9, Miller 3, Griner 1, Denison 1, Semptimphelter 1; (W) Gaines-Burns 5, Cash 3, Wolshire 2, Burton 1, Simpson 1