After a highly successful winter break and Winter Term in which they went 7-3, the Oberlin women's basketball team have split their last four since the beginning of February, running their record to 13-8 (8-6 NCAC), good for third place in the conference with three games to play in the regular season before the NCAC Tournament.
The women lost a heartbreaker at Allegheny Wednesday by the score of 55-50. After trailing by seven at the half and as much as 14 early in the third quarter, the Lady Crimson cut the margin to two, at 50-48, with only 50 seconds left in the game. But Oberlin could not pull a rabbit all the way out of the hat, unable to continue on the 10-0 run that began with 6:43 left in the game to pull them within two.
The tough conference road loss followed a 102-74 home victory last Saturday over Wooster.
Forward first-year Raegan Johnson said the game will serve as major motivation for the rest of the season, especially given the three-digit point total. "We're going to watch a tape of the game when Nzinga [Broussard] made the free throws [to go over 100 points]."
Last Friday night the women fell on the road to Kenyon, 68-51. The loss came as more than something of a surprise, since the Lady Crimson had beaten Kenyon handily in their previous match, by a score of 78-46 on Jan. 20 at Oberlin.
That has, however, been part of the story of the season so far. the women ran their home record to 9-1 with the victory over Wooster, but they are just 4-7 on the road, and 2-5 on the road within the NCAC.
The goal is to try and win as many of the remaining games as possible, but especially the home season finale, coach Ann Gilbert said. "We're shooting for third in the conference. Third would give us home court in the playoffs, which is very helpful, and would be the first time we had ever hosted a home playoff game," she said.
Johnson agreed that home court was an especially helpful factor for the team. "Our fans, our crowd, the pride we have at our home court; we don't get as excited for away games as for home games. Sometimes we play with a little fear on the road," she said.
The winter season picked up on Dec. 30 at home against John Carroll, the women not having played since their 78-68 victory at Earlham December 12. The Lady Crimson beat John Carroll 72-69 in the first of a three-game home stretch. The next game was an 82-70 win over Case Western Reserve on January 2, in the first game of 1999 for Oberlin. The women wrapped up their homestand in convincing fashion on January 5 in a huge non-conference victory over Lake Erie, 81-40. The margin of victory, 41, remains the largest for the Lady Crimson this season. This was yet another lopsided win for the dominating Lady Crimsons.
The women then set out on the road for one game, and were put down by Ohio Wesleyan 91-87 on Jan. 9. They returned home for another three-game set, and beat Earlham 87-65 Jan. 16. The next day they came out and beat Denison 56-45, before beating Kenyon 78-46 on Jan. 20. The win put their record at 8-2 since their home opener Dec. 2.
But Oberlin took to the road and did not find the same success, losing at Wittenberg 80-58 Jan. 23 and at Denison 71-63 Jan. 27. The women wrapped up their January play on the 30th with an 86-75 home victory over Wilberforce, a game in which Johnson set personal and team season highs for both points, with 36, and rebounds, with 18.
Guard first-year Nzinga Broussard leads the team in scoring, steals and assists with 16.6 ppg, 8.4 assists and 9.3 steals, and is second in rebounding with 6.8 per game. Johnson is second in scoring, averaging 14.7 ppg, and leads in rebounds, with 8.5 per game. Guard first-year Menna Demessie is third in scoring, with 10.9 ppg, and second in assists, with 4.8.
The Lady Crimson's remaining three games include a nonconference game Saturday afternoon at Spelman in Georgia, a road game at Case Western Reserve Wednesday night and the season finale at home against Ohio Wesleyan next Saturday afternoon.
Air Oberlin: The Yeowomen scramble for a loose ball against Wooster Saturday. They beat them handily 102-74. (photo by Abby Person)
Copyright © 1999, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 127, Number 13, February 12, 1999
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