The win moves Wittenberg into a second-place tie in the North Coast Athletic Conference with Ohio Wesleyan, a full four games behind unbeaten Denison. The Tigers won for the third time in four games and improved to 11-9 overall and 8-4 in the NCAC. Allegheny, which narrowly escaped with a win at Earlham Friday, dropped to 14-7 overall but 8-5 in the conference. The Gators have dropped a pair to Wittenberg this year.
The Tigers jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the opening three minutes and never looked back. The lead slowly expanded to 35-25 by halftime and the Tigers answered every challenge over the final 20 minutes. The final 24-point margin was the largest of the game, thanks to a game-ending five-point burst.
Three Tiger players found their way into double figures offensively, led by junior post Katie Gregorevich, who had 18 points and six rebounds. She finished the week with a whopping 60 points after hitting for 20 at Kenyon on Tuesday and tying a career-high with 22 points against Hiram on Friday.
Senior post Kathy Hittle added 12 points and four rebounds in 16 minutes as she was limited by foul trouble. Senior guard Andrea Hackett chipped in with a career-high-tying 11 points to go along with three steals and two assists.
The Tiger offense was potent on back-to-back days in part because bench players stepped up as well, a necessity considering the fact that four key players remain sidelined by injury currently. Among the notables on Saturday, senior guard Tosha Johnson contributed four points, two rebounds and two assists in 14 quality minutes, and junior post Ali Rohlfs added six points, five assists and five rebounds in perhaps her finest performance of the 2006-07 season.
Allegheny was paced by Katie Kestler with 10 points and four rebounds. The Gators were beaten on the boards to the tune of 41-25 and were forced into 18 turnovers, six more than Wittenberg committed. The Tigers shot 45 percent from the field in the game, compared to 36 percent for Allegheny.