Balance Keys Win Over Susquehanna For Tiger Women's Basketball

LAS VEGAS, NV - Five players scored in double figures and another finished one point short of a double-double as Wittenberg Women's Basketball opened up play in the D3hoops.com Classic with a 67-61 win over Susquehanna.

The win moved Wittenberg to 8-2 on the season, while Susquehanna dropped to 5-5. The River Hawks were playing their second game in as many days in Las Vegas after losing their first game in the D3Hoops.com Classic to Colorado College.

The Tigers jumped out to an 18-12 lead by the end of the first quarter thanks to three-pointers in the final minute by Karsen Karlblom (Crystal Lake, IL / Prairie Ridge) and Payton Cronen (Louisville, KY / Assumption). Wittenberg expanded the edge to 11 points by halftime, and then a 9-2 run over the first three minutes of the second half pushed the Tigers out to a 16-point margin.

From there, Wittenberg was forced to hang on as the River Hawks chipped away at the lead. Susquehanna's Sydney Weyant made two free throws with 44 seconds left in the game to make the score 62-61, but Taryn Cash (Cincinnati, OH / Princeton) responded with a lay-up and Jazmyn Gaines-Burns (Bladensburg, MD / Elizabeth Seton) snuffed out the River Hawks' next possession with a steal, leading to a free throw by Madi Barnett (Cincinnati, OH / Kings) that gave the Tigers a four-point cushion. Riane Burton (Houston, TX / Cypress Ranch) closed things out with a pair of free throws with nine seconds left.

Burton finished with nine points and 10 rebounds in the game. Cronen, Barnett, and Karlblom all finished with 10 points, Gaines-Burns ended up with 11 points, and Cash led the Tigers with 12 points to go along with a team-high four assists and six rebounds.

The Tigers will wrap up their holiday week excursion with a game against Cal Lutheran at 7 p.m. (EST) Monday, Dec. 30. All games in the D3hoops.com Classic take place in South Point Arena.