Ohio Wesleyan 63, Wittenberg 62

Feb. 13, 2008

Senior post Kelli Lester (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial) scored the tying basket with :49 left in regulation time and sank a free throw with :20 remaining to put the Bishops ahead to stay, and the Ohio Wesleyan defense recorded a stop on the final possession to edge Wittenberg in a North Coast Athletic Conference verdict on Wednesday in Springfield.

The win gives Ohio Wesleyan a sweep of the regular-season series against Wittenberg for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. The Bishops defeated the Tigers, 70-67, on Jan. 23 at Branch Rickey Arena.

Wittenberg had taken a 62-60 lead on Katherine Hueter's jumper from the lane with exactly 1 minute to play.

After a Bishop timeout with :51 to go, Lester hit a lay-in right away to even the score at 62 with :49 remaining.

Katie Gregorevich missed a jumper on Wittenberg's next possession, and Lester grabbed the rebound and was fouled with :20 to go. She hit the first free throw to put Ohio Wesleyan ahead to stay, but missed the second charity shot.

Wittenberg called time out with :09 left, and the play went to Gregorevich, who misfired with :04 left. Hueter chased down the rebound but stepped out of bounds, giving the ball to Ohio Wesleyan with 4/10 of a second remaining, and the Bishops were able to run out the clock.

Ohio Wesleyan had raced to an early 5-0 lead on a Lester 3-pointer and a lay-in by senior wing Steffi Graf (Poland/Seminary), but Wittenberg answered with a 13-2 burst that included 4 points by Gregorevich and a 3-pointer by Ellie Stonecash.

Freshman guard Pam Quigney (Mentor) hit a jumper with 11:39 left in the first half, ending a drought of nearly 6 minutes in which the Bishops managed a single basket, and when Quigney followed with a lay-in on the break and Graf added a lay-in, the score was tied at 13-13 with 9:29 to play.

A Graf 3-pointer and a free throw by junior post Katie Hamilton (Hilliard/Darby) helped the Bishops to a 21-18 lead with 4:59 left in the half, but Wittenberg ended the first half with a 12-2 run, with Gregorevich hitting a 3-pointer and a basket and Rachel Kohlruss adding a pair of jumpers from the lane, and a Kelsey Casey 3-pointer gave Wittenberg a 30-23 lead at the half.

Lester and Quigney came out firing to open the second half, with each knocking down a pair of 3 pointers during the first 6-plus minutes of the half as Ohio Wesleyan outscored the Tigers, 19-4, to open the period. Lester's second trifecta gave the Bishops a 42-34 lead with 13:52 left in regulation time.

Wittenberg chipped away at the deficit, eventually tying the game at 52-52 on Donawerth's bucket with 5:14 left in regulation time, and the Tigers would take a 60-56 lead on Stephanie Boardman's lay-in with 3:18 left only to see the Bishops tie the game on a Graf 3-pointer and a free throw by Quigney.

Quigney led the Bishops with 19 points, going 8-for-11 from the field. Lester finished with 16 points, including a 4-for-5 performance from 3-point range, and led the Bishops with 7 rebounds. Graf added 12 points and freshman post Kayla Gordon (St. Louis, Mo./Mehlville) scored 11 points. Senior wing Lindsey Macklin (Columbus/Bexley) led the Bishops with 5 assists.

Gregorevich led the Tigers with 17 points, while Boardman finished with 16 points and Hueter scored 10 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Donawerth led Wittenberg with 7 assists.

Box Score