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Ohio Wesleyan 75, Oberlin 68 (1/16/2002)

Freshman wing Kelly Heil (Sylvania/Southview) scored 7 points during an early 13-0 run and Ohio Wesleyan held off a furious Oberlin rally to edge the Yeowomen in North Coast Athletic Conference action on Wednesday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Oberlin jumped on top early on a 3-pointer by Sonja Spencer, but the Bishops answered with 13 straight points, taking the lead on a Heil 3-pointer and capping the run with a pair of Heil free throws.

The Yeowomen closed to within 20-16 on a 3-pointer by Cristina Briboneria, but Ohio Wesleyan responded with an 18-4 burst during which senior post Katy Sturtz (Worthington/Columbus Watterson) scored 8 consecutive points.

Oberlin came back once more, scoring 5 straight points in the closing moments of the first half, but once again Ohio Wesleyan had an answer as Heil calmly swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Bishops a 41-25 halftime lead.

During most of the second half, the teams traded points. Oberlin was able to score 4 straight points only twice, while Ohio Wesleyan accomplished that feat but once. The Bishops still led, 72-55, on a follow shot by sophomore post Tiffany Barbee (Detroit, Mich./Cass Technical) with 3:57 to play.

Then the high-octane Oberlin offense starting firing on all cylinders. Nzinga Broussard hit an improbable twisting bank shot from the lane just :06 after Barbee's basket, and after a Bishop turnover, Becky Kanuch sank a lay-in to cut the margin to 72-59 with 3:13 left.

And the Yeowomen kept chipping away, getting a 3-pointer from Spencer and a pair of Broussard free throws with 2:33 remaining to close to within 72-64. After a Bishop turnover, Kanuch hit another lay-in to make it 72-66 with 1:47 remaining.

Oberlin forced a 30-second violation on Ohio Wesleyan's next possession, but the Yeowomen misfired from the field and were forced to foul on the rebound. But senior guard Michelle Wolfe (Gahanna/Lincoln) missed the front end of a one-and-one and Oberlin's Amber Coleman followed her own missed shot to slice the margin to 72-68 with :25.4 remaining.

Oberlin fouled junior post Mindy Hammond (Columbus/DeSales) immediately on the inbounds pass and Hammond sank both ends of the ensuing one-and-one, and after another Oberlin miss, Hammond added another free throw for the final 75-68 margin.

Sturtz led the Bishops with 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Hammond finished with 19 points and Heil contributed 18 points. Wolfe led the Bishops with 4 assists.

Broussard led Oberlin with 20 points, Spencer finished with 15 points and Briboneria added 12 points.