Tiger Women's Basketball Picks Up Road Win Over Otterbein

WESTERVILLE, OH – In control from start to finish, Wittenberg Women's Basketball picked up its third straight victory Saturday afternoon on the road at the Rike Center, defeating longtime Ohio Athletic Conference rival Otterbein, 67-60.

Now 3-1 on the season, Wittenberg went on a 15-0 run in the first quarter to take a 20-11 lead after one quarter was in the books. The Tigers then built their lead to 37-24 at the half and never looked back.

However, Wittenberg had to fend off a fourth-quarter scare. Stuck on 55 for quite some time, the Tigers allowed Otterbein to come within four points at 55-51. Witt led 55-45 with 9:47 remaining in the game but didn't score again until the 4:13 mark when Taryn Cash (Cincinnati, OH / Princeton) buried a three-pointer that began a 12-9 run to allow the Tigers to hold on for the win. 

Riane Burton (Houston, TX / Cypress Ranch) turned in a top performance, coming off the bench for the Tigers with a team-high 15 points to go along with seven rebounds, two steals, and an assist after missing the previous two games due to injury. Wittenberg's bench continues to make significant contributions, this time tallying 32 points in the Tiger win.

Two other Tigers scored in double digits with Jazmyn Gaines-Burns (Bladensburg, MD / Elizabeth Seton) tossing in 11 and Kelsey Ragan (Whitehouse, OH / Anthony Wayne) adding 10. Karsen Karlblom (Crystal Lake, IL / Prairie Ridge) added seven rebounds and four steals, and Payton Cronen (Louisville, KY / Assumption) recorded a team-high three assists and one block.

Wittenberg was 22-of-45 from the field (48.9%) and 7-of-15 (46.7%) from three-point range. Otterbein was strong at the free-throw line, going 17-of-21 (81%), while Witt went 16-of-22 (72.7%). The Tigers, who scored 24 points in the paint, held a 34-28 advantage in rebounds.

Otterbein, which shot 36.8% from the field, which limited to just 1-for-10 from three-point land. The Cardinals were led by Kathleen DeCarlo's 14 points, while Mazie King added 12 points with eight rebounds, and Kyla Irby added 11 points. The Cardinals fall to 2-3 on the season.

Next up, Wittenberg will host Pitt-Greensburg at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 1.