WESTERVILLE —The Otterbein women's basketball team fell 67-60 to Wittenberg on Saturday afternoon in its 2024-25 home opener.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (2-3 overall), Wittenberg (2-2 overall)
• Venue: Rike Center - Westerville, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Graduate student Kathleen DeCarlo led the team with 14 points and contributed three rebounds.
• Senior Maizie King finished with 12 points, two assists, and eight rebounds.
• Sophomore Kyla Irby scored 11 points and was 7-for-7 from the foul line.
• Freshman Kiara Hudgins had a solid performance, recording 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.
• Sophomore Abby Rawlings dished out five assists, grabbed two rebounds and scored two points.

Game Highlights

• First Quarter: Both teams had a sluggish start to the game, missing all their shots until about two and a half minutes in. Wittenberg then went on a strong 15-0 run, building a 20-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
• Second Quarter: The Tigers held a commanding 30-11 lead with 6:12 left. However, the Cardinals responded with a 14-4 run to cut the deficit to 13 points. DeCarlo came through with some clutch shots in the final four minutes of the quarter, beginning with a turnaround jumper that resulted in an and-1, followed by another jumper. The Tigers led 37-24 at halftime.
• Third Quarter: Otterbein faced a 15-point deficit early in the quarter but managed to close the gap to nine points by the end. Irby caught fire after getting a turnover, scoring two free throws, a driving layup with an and-1, another pair of free throws and finishing the quarter with two more from the line. The Cardinals entered the fourth quarter trailing 54-45.
• Fourth Quarter: The Cardinals made the final quarter exciting, holding the Tigers to just five points with three minutes remaining, while starting the quarter only nine points behind. A 2-point jumper from King had the Cardinals within four, 55-51, with 4:41 left, but they were unable to pull any closer.
• Key Team Stats: Otterbein shot 36.8% from the field and was 1-for-10 (10%) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Wittenberg shot 48.9% from the field and was 7-of-15 (46.7%) from 3-point range. The Cardinals were strong at the free-throw line, hitting 17-of-21 (81%), while the Tigers went 16-of-22 (72.7%). The Tigers held a 34-28 advantage over the Cardinals in rebounds.

Notables

• Head coach Diana Noles is in her sixth year at Otterbein and has an all-time record of 65-56 at the helm of the Cardinals.