The Oberlin women’s basketball team heated things up this January. The squad kicked off their 2005 campaign with a trip to New York City where they spanked St. Joseph’s in the famed gym at Christ the King High School. The team went on to compile a 4-6 record for the month, including a conference win against Hiram. Senior Christina Briboneria garnered individual honors during the Hiram contest when she broke the 1,000 point mark. Briboneria is one of only four Oberlin women to achieve this milestone.

Upon returning to campus the Yeowomen turned their focus to NCAC play. “We felt good going into conference games. We did well in New York. We came in with an optimistic attitude. Even though we had a small team we knew we had the chance to do better than last year,” said Briboneria.

The Yeowomen got off to a rocky start in February as they lost a NCAC match at Allegheny, 99-74. The seventh-ranked Yeomen then faced sixth -ranked Wooster at home. The lead bounced back and forth between the teams but Oberlin refused to give up.

Despite carrying only seven players, the Yeowomen outhustled Wooster. Oberlin displayed great poise as the team pushed through poor referee decisions that elicited numerous boos from the rowdy YeoZone. “We know we are a good team. Prior to Wooster we had been working on defense. We lost by 10 the last time we played them and knew we shouldn’t have lost that game. We wanted that win and our defense got it for us,” remarked Briboneria about the 57-56 victory. Sophmore Quintetta Stubblefield led the team with 14 points, including four three-pointers. Briboneria threw in 13 while senior Nicole Burford chipped in 12.

The Yeowomen were unable to carry the Wooster momentum forward when they faced conference leader Kenyon the following night. During the first half, Oberlin was able to keep pace with the Ladies, despite Kenyon’s five player substitution rotation scheme. The Yeowomen doggedly matched Kenyon and the halftime score was tied 24-24.

During the second half, however, Oberlin’s hustle could not keep up with Kenyon’s fresh legs. The Ladies surged ahead at the start of the second half and never looked back, putting the final score at 65-45. “When we stopped rebounding in the second half, they got all the offensive boards and the putbacks,” explained sophomore Jessie Oram.

With only three chances left to snag conference wins, Oberlin was pitted against eighth-ranked Hiram. “We knew it was a game we could win and we also knew it was an important game. By winning this game we would win one more game than we won last year and also lock down seventh place, which is our best finish under Coach [Christa] Champion,” said Oram.

Oberlin did secure the win, but the 72-70 victory did not come easily. The Yeowomen were groggy from the start, allowing the Terriers to go on a 12-0 run. Oberlin gradually chipped away at the lead, trailing 37-32 at the half. With seven seconds left in the game and the Yeowomen behind by three, the seniors took over the game. Briboneria found the net with one of her three- pointers that have become feared in the conference.

With the game tied at 70-70 Briboneria launched a surprise attack, stealing Hiram’s inbound pass and feeding the ball to Burford. Hiram proceeded to foul the 66 percent free throw shooter. Displaying the consistency present in her play throughout the season, Burford sunk both free throws to seal the win.

The Yeowomen have their last home conference game this Saturday when they face Denison University. The game has been designated as “Senior Day” to acknowledge the contributions Briboneria and Burford have made to the Oberlin basketball program.