Lady Crimson fall in first conference match

Few Oberlin teams have begun their season as well as the women's basketball team. With a solid start to the season, the Yeowomen should contribute to an exciting component of Winter Sports at Oberlin College.

Through four games, the newly dubbed Lady Crimson have won two games, while losing two. Their season began when they hosted the premier Lady Crimson Classic. They mutilated Lake Erie College, 94-20, on Nov. 21, and then lost to Wilberforce College in the tournament's championship game, 66-62, on Nov. 22.

The Lady Crimson were scheduled to play Lake Erie again last Saturday, but Lake Erie forfeited, which counts as a 1-0 road victory for the Lady Crimson. A 64-47 loss to the College of Wooster completed the first four games for the women's basketball team.

The Lady Crimson could not have asked for a better opponent than Lake Erie to start the season. The young, inexperienced Lady Crimson dealt out a good, old-fashioned whooping to debut their new team-name and uniforms. The team includes six sophomores, six first-years, and only one junior.

The lopsided affair allowed Coach Ann Marie Gilbert to play the whole team, and get some minutes to players who will normally not see much playing time. First-years Rachael Barbee and Regina Respert highlighted the score sheet, scoring 26 and 19 points respectively. Barbee also snagged 10 rebounds, recording a very impressive double-double in her first game as a Lady Crimson.

Sophomore Monica Bush said, "The first-years have been great. I believe everyone is doing all right."

Bush continued her consistent play from last season, tallying 16 points in the contest.

Brimming with confidence from their victory, the Lady Crimson locked horns with the physical Wilberforce in the championship game of the Classic. The team hurt themselves at the free throw line, shooting only 55%. They squandered 19 easy points from the charity stripe, that would have easily changed the outcome of the game. Sophomore Ikeya Hillman still managed to pour in 25 points during the losing affair.

Hillman said, "I think Wilberforce was a pretty good team. I do not think they were better than us, but they were more hungry."

Expecting to blow-out Lake Erie again, the Lady Crimson were disappointed to win by forfeiture, due to Lake Erie's lack of healthy players. In a game that would have added to some already impressive individual statistics, the Lady Crimson had to settle for just the victory.

The Yeowomen brought their winning record onto Wooster's home-court and lost despite a great first half. Gilbert said, "It was the best first half I've seen since I've been here. The defense was incredible."

Oberlin could not keep up their competitive play, however, and Wooster reeled off 12 straight points at the end of the first half. In the second, Oberlin whittled the lead down to five, but made some mental errors that cost them game.

Poor free-throw shooting, and bad decision-making hampered Oberlin.

They struggled at the line, hitting only 38% of their free throws. The Lady Crimson also failed to pass the ball to Bush, one of their most potent offensive weapons. She ended up with only 8 points, but showed some great hustle by collecting 14 rebounds and 4 steals. Hillman rounded out the scoring with 19 points, five rebounds, and one steal.

While all the blame would seem to lie on her teammates for not distributing the basketball well, Bush focused some of the blame on herself. "I have to work to get open, it is a two-way street. My game has not been where I want it to be."

This Saturday the Lady Crimson face the formidable Wittenberg University Tigers on the road. The Lady Crimson must play a focused game, and improve their free throw shooting in order to compete with Wittenberg.

The intensity problems they encountered against Wilberforce and Wooster have been recognized by the team, and the Lady Crimson hope to remedy the problem on the court. Hillman said, "We need to be intense for 40, not 15."

Fundamentals: Two Lady Crimson work on their layups and boxing out during practice. The team is 2-2 going into Saturday's showdown with Wittenberg University. (photo by Ned Basbaum)