The Yeowomen were able to keep it close for most of the first half, but the conference-leading Wittenberg Tigers eventually pulled ahead, building a lead that the Yeowomen couldn’t overcome. The 81-61 loss on Wednesday came on the heels of a sound 98-53 defeat of D’Youville College in Buffalo, N.Y. on Sunday. Oberlin is now 4-11 in the NCAC, tied for seventh place, and 8-13 overall.
Wittenberg out-rebounded the Yeowomen 52 to 35, and the Tigers’ field goal percentage was 18 points higher than Oberlin’s, both of which were big factors in the loss. The Lady Crimson were also hurt by fouls as the Tigers went 17 for 26 from the line.
“Wittenberg is just an excellent team,” senior Nzinga Broussard said. “They hit a lot of key shots. We struggled a little from the field, [but] I don’t think we played a bad game.”
For Broussard and fellow senior Becky Kanuch it was the final home game of their college careers, as the Yeowomen played before a crowd of 120.
“It was kinda sad knowing it would be my last home game,” Broussard said.

Oberlin struggled early as the Tigers built a 7-1 lead in the first two minutes, but the Yeowomen made three three-point shots in the next six minutes to take a 10-9 lead. With 7:02 remaining the Lady Crimson were still close, trailing 22-21, but Wittenberg went on a 19-4 run to finish the half leading 41-16.
In the second half, the Yeowomen closed to within 13 at 45-32 and were sharp on some runs, but they couldn’t close the gap as Wittenberg added 40 second half points.
“They had more momentum,” first-year Cristina Briboneria said. “We played in spurts.”
Broussard led the team with 23 points, a game high for her, while junior Sonja Spencer also went into double-digits with 14. Broussard also had four rebounds, four assists and five steals.
In their previous game, the Lady Crimson completely dominated D’Youville, jumping to an early lead and building a 49-27 halftime lead. Four players scored in double-figures. Junior Malisha Richardson led the way with 26 points, Broussard had 20, and Briboneria and Spencer each had 11. Oberlin forced 41 turnovers in the game.

“We were just there to have some fun,” Broussard said. “That was our mentality for the entire game.”
The Yeowomen had just come off of a loss to Allegheny, “so we were out for revenge,” Briboneria said.

Oberlin has one regular season game remaining, a conference match at Hiram. The team cruised to a 102-47 victory against Hiram on January 19. The 102 points tied an Oberlin record. “I think we can break the team scoring record [in the Hiram rematch],” Briboneria said.

Oberlin has been eliminated from the race for conference champion, but can still win the NCAC tournament, which will feature the top eight teams from the conference. Oberlin would currently be seeded eighth and play the number one team in the conference, which is currently Wittenberg, but with a win against Hiram the Lady Crimson would have a chance to move into the seventh seed to play the number two team.

“I think we can win [the tournament],” Briboneria said, “As long as we bring it, we have a good chance of beating any team.”