Lady Crimson put on show at Philips

With a furious fire in their belly after a difficult road loss, the women's basketball team was propelled to one of the best games Oberlin College has seen this year.

On Saturday, the Lady Crimson lost at Wilberforce University, 62-49, in a game they desperately wanted to win after an early season home loss to the same squad. Oberlin rebounded from the loss Wednesday, with an exciting 47-46 victory over Case Western Reserve University. Oberlin is now tied with Case Western in wins. Either Oberlin or Case Western will earn a berth in the NCAC tournament, depending on their upcoming games.

Leading by two points at half-time, Oberlin could not keep up with Wilberforce in the second half. The Lady Crimson were outscored by 15 in the last 20 minutes, and ended up losing by 13. "We didn't seem very focused," said Coach Ann Gilbert.

Oberlin scored 10 points at the charity stripe in the first half, but only managed one point from the free throw line in the second. First-year Regina Respert lead all scores with 17, but only shot 6-21, and her three assists were overshadowed by her 6 turnovers.

"We attacked them in the first half. In the second, they came out more intense, more hyped," said Respert.

The Lady Crimson came to play on Wednesday night against Case Western. At the start of the game, Oberlin played expert defense. They hounded the Spartans up and down the floor, not giving their opponents an inch of breathing room, and forcing 13 first-half turnovers. Five minutes into the game, Oberlin held a 12-4 lead, and was primed to break the game wide open. Missed lay-ups, though, from Respert, and sophomores Monica Bush and Chamia Peterson allowed Case Western to get back into the game. Coach Gilbert said, "We missed so many lay-ups. We have to be able to finish."

Case battled back into the game, and trailed by the score of 22-19 at the half way point.

First-year Heather Barbee said, "It was very exciting and intense. But we were confident that we would win."

Free throws also hurt the Lady Crimson in the first-half. A problem that plagued them earlier in the season, which they have solved as of late, reemerged with Oberlin going 4-10 from the line.

Case Western was the aggressor in the last 20 minutes of the game. They came out of the locker room firing and grabbed a one point lead with 14:54 left to play.

Oberlin regained the lead, and seemed in control of the contest. The Lady Crimson had an amazing two minute sequence where they pinned Case Western down in their own side of the court. During this series, Oberlin shot seven free throws.

The Spartans would not go away, though, and pulled to within one point, three times during the last six minutes of the game. There were 38 seconds left in the game when Case Western had a chance to tie the score with two free throws. Junior Racheal Rau hit one of two shots for Case Western, and Oberlin controlled possession on a jump ball.

The Spartans fouled Sophomore Ikeya Hillman as Oberlin tried to advance the ball up-court. With ice water running through her veins, Hillman drilled both free throws. Oberlin seemed to be victorious, with the win glaring them in the face. "Our game plan at the end was just to be solid," said Gilbert.

Down three, Case Western scored with seven seconds left on a base-line jumper. Oberlin hastily imbounded the ball, and turned it over to the Spartans. Gilbert said, "My heart fell out of my chest when we turned that ball over."

Case Western had four seconds left to win the game, down one point, but Oberlin harassed the ball carrier, and the Spartans did not get a shot off in time. As the buzzer sounded, the Lady Crimson mobbed one another in celebration.

"I was proud that we pulled together as a team to beat Case," said first-year Rachel Barbee.

Bush dominated the court down low in this contest, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 boards.

Oberlin is in a position to earn a post-season spot in the NCAC tournament, if they can earn a victory in their last three games of the season. The Lady Crimson play at Denison University this Saturday.

Coach Gilbert said, "The kids are really excited about these last three games."