Box Score
Wittenberg 70, Ohio Wesleyan 66

Senior guard Kasey Schipfer (Mechanicsburg) scored 6 points as Ohio Wesleyan narrowed a 13-point deficit to 2 during the final minutes, but Wittenberg held on for a North Coast Athletic Conference win on Saturday in Springfield.

The Bishops trailed, 58-52, with 3 minutes left in regulation time when Wittenberg assembled a 7-0 microburst, getting a 3-pointer from Kelsey Ragan, a pair of free throws from Taryn Cash, and another pair of free throws by Jade Simpson.

Schipfer answered with a jumper on the other end, and sophomore guard Mia Guscoff (Canton/Massillon Perry) converted a 3-point play before Schipfer stole the ball, drew a foul, and sank a pair of free throws to bring the Bishops within 65-59 with 1:14 to go.  After Riane Burton split a pair of free throws, Schipfer sank a lay-in, then stole the ball and set up a lay-in by senior guard Lauren Denison (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial) to make it a 66-63 contest with :27 remaining.

Burton was fouled immediately and sank both free throws, but the trade-off worked when junior point guard Alayna McMullen (Canton/Massillon Jackson) knocked down a 3-pointer that brought the Bishops within 68-66 with :18 left.

Simpson sank a pair of free throws with :13 to play that gave Wittenberg a 70-66 lead, and a Schipfer 3-pointer was off the mark with :07 to go.

Wittenberg opened the game with a 6-0 run that included a pair of Cash baskets, but Ohio Wesleyan came back to take the lead as Schipfer converted a 3-point play and followed with a pair of free throws late in the first period.  Freshman post Macy Miller (Marysville/Fairbanks) gave the lead back to the Bishops with a lay-in late in the second period, only to see the Tigers break a 25-25 tie with a Simpson 3-pointer.

Denison closed the first half with a jumper from the lane, then opened the second half with a 3-pointer as Ohio Wesleyan closed to within 33-32, but Wittenberg scored the final 6 points of the third period, getting a 3-pointer by Ragan along the way, to take a 55-47 lead into the fourth period.

After 5-plus minutes of scoreless basketball to open the quarter, a Denison jumper and a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Graci Semptimphelter (Franklin, Tenn./Battle Ground Academy) pulled the Bishops within 58-52.

Schipfer led the Bishops with 23 points and 9 rebounds. 

Denison added 15 points, raising her career total to 1011 and making her the 20th Ohio Wesleyan women's basketball player to surpass the 1000-point mark.

Miller scored 12 points.  Senior point guard Elizabeth Homan (Cincinnati/Anderson) had a team-high 6 assists.

Box Score