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Wittenberg 72, Ohio Wesleyan 58

March 1, 2003

2003 NCAC Women's Basketball Tournament.
Quarterfinals (at home sites)
(1) Wittenberg 86, (8) Oberlin 46
(4) Allegheny 63, (5) Earlham 53
(3) Denison 58, (6) Wooster 54
(2) Ohio Wesleyan 51, (7) Kenyon 45

Semifinals -- Friday, Feb. 28
at Wittenberg
Ohio Wesleyan 75, Denison 74
Wittenberg 95, Allegheny 27

Championship -- Saturday, March 1
at Wittenberg
Wittenberg 72, Ohio Wesleyan 58

SPRINGFIELD -- Sophomore wing Kelly Heil (Sylvania/Southview) scored 4 points and sophomore post Erica Brizendine (Grove City) converted a 3-point play as Ohio Wesleyan cut a 33-25 halftime deficit to 33-32 early in the second half, but Wittenberg answered with a 13-2 run and went on to defeat the Bishops in the championship game of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament on Saturday at Wittenberg.

Wittenberg led through the entire first half, but despite shooting 33 percent from the field (7 of 21) and 50 percent from the line (10 of 20) and committing 10 turnovers, Ohio Wesleyan was still in the game, trailing by a margin of 33-25.

The Bishops opened the second half on fire, with Heil scoring after a steal by junior guard Krystal Sensabaugh (Wapakoneta). After a Wittenberg miss, Brizendine converted a 3-point play to bring the Bishops within 33-30 with 18:41 left to play. Following a Wittenberg turnover, Heil connected to slice the deficit to 33-32 with 18:15 remaining.

Kate Rolf answered with a 3-pointer on Wittenberg's next possession, and Stephanie Campbell followed with a basket to give the Tigers a 38-32 lead.

Senior post Mindy Hammond (Columbus/DeSales) canned a jumper to bring the Bishops back to within 38-34 with 15:44 to play, but Wittenberg reeled off the next 8 points, with Kate Rolf sinking a jumper, Tiffany Keller draining 2 free throws and then a jumper, and Campbell following with a jumper to give the Tigers a 46-34 lead with 13:06 to play.

Sophomore post Shelby Larson (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows) scored with 12:24 to go, ending the Bishop drought and closing the gap to 46-36 with 12:24 remaining, but Wittenberg responded with an 11-0 run to take a 57-36 advantage with 9:05 to play.

Heil led the Bishops with 20 points, while Hammond led the team with 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Brizendine added 12 points.

Meghan Bruggeman led the Tigers with 15 points and Haley Warden contributed 10 points.

2003 North Coast Athletic Conference all-tournament team

Wittenberg Ohio Wesleyan Denison

Meghan Bruggeman Mindy Hammond Ann Staubach

Stephanie Campbell Kelly Heil

Kate Rolf