COLLEGE BASKETBALL \ Area games

December 14, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

WOMEN

Bethany 65, Geneva 55

BEAVER FALLS, Pa. — Kelly Goode had 16 points and nine rebounds while Renee Brandenburg had 13 points and nine boards to lead Bethany (3-6). The Bison raced to a 21-3 lead to start the game. Geneva’s Michawn Rich kept her team in the game with 20 first-half points. The Golden Tornadoes (3-4) cut the deficit to two before Brandenburg hit four foul shots and Anne Wilson hit two in the final 2:49 to help the Bison secure their second straight win. Kaitlyn McCormick tallied 12 points and had five assists. Sophomore Tara Harris ripped down 12 rebounds to help BC post a 50-47 advantage on the glass. Geneva lost despite a monster game from Rich, who finished with 31 points and 19 rebounds. Beth DeLuca added 14 in the setback. Bethany will play their final game before the Christmas break on Tuesday when they host Marietta at Hummel Field House. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Mount Union 84, Heidelberg 65

ALLIANCE — Mount Union College’s women’s basketball team made a season-high 10 three-pointers and shot a season-best 54-percent (33-of-61) from the field. Sophomore Katie Crider scored a career-high 20 points as the Purple Raiders ran past Heidelberg College in an Ohio Athletic Conference game at Timken Gymnasium in Alliance. Mount Union stays undefeated in the OAC at 2-0 and is 5-1 overall, while Heidelberg is winless in conference play at 0-3 and is 2-6 on the season. Heidelberg took an early 5-2 lead after a Stacey Barker three-pointer, but the Raiders would then go on a 20-6 surge with four three-pointers, two by Crider, during the run to lead 22-11 with 10:45 left in the half. Mount Union would extend that lead to 12 points, 38-26 at the break. The Raiders would continue to pour it on in the second half leading by as many as 23 points, 84-61, when Stephanie Schwartz (Farmdale/Maplewood) would hit a shot with 2:31 left in the game before settling for the 19 point final. Tessa Pohovey was the only other Mount Union player in double figures as she had a season-best 12 points, while freshman Amanda Rose had game-high 10 rebounds as the Raiders pounded Heidelberg on the rebounds, 47-25. Brittany Skolnicki had 16 to lead three Heidelberg players in double digits. Mount Union will play a pair of OAC games on the road before the holidays Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at No. 25 ranked Baldwin-Wallace and Saturday at 3 p.m. at Otterbein College.

Thiel 51, Hiram 37

HIRAM — Defense was key as the Thiel College women’s basketball team picked up its fifth win of the season. The Tomcats never looked back after Ashley Davis sunk a jumper in the first couple minutes of action. What was to follow was a defensive performance that held the Terriers to shooting 24% from the field, while coughing up the ball 16 times. Leading the way for Thiel was Tomcat forward Amber Bodrick (Mooney High), who filled the stat sheet scoring 13 points, 11 rebounds, two blocked shots and three steals. Senior guard, Catie Sieber, dropped in a team-high 14 points. Davis contributed nine points and grabbed six boards while Jasmin Jones grabbed eight rebounds. The Tomcats will christen the new year with a January 3 match up at Bethany College to face the Bison. The Terriers are 2-4 overall. Thiel looked to take control early scoring the first six points of the game as part of a 9-2 scoring run to begin the contest. Hiram battled back to tie the game at 11-11 on a jumper by freshman guard Tiffany Shields at the 11:59 minute mark. Thiel regained the lead and led by as many as eight points in the half including a 29-17 margin at halftime. The Tomcats opened the second half with a three-pointer to go up by 11 points, 30-19, but Hiram answered with an 8-0 run capped by a jumper by junior forward Alex Dellas (Willoughby Hills/South) to pull to within three points, 30-27, with 16:16 to play. The Terriers then fell into a 5:36 scoring drought that allowed the Thiel lead grow to 10 points, 37-27, with 10:40 to play. Hiram would again battle back to within striking distance, narrowing the gap to six points, 41-35, on a bucket by junior guard Karris Kandel with 5:55 to go. Thiel shot 35.7 percent (20-of-56) from the floor and held Hiram to just 24.1 percent (14-of-58) shooting from the field. Hiram was led in scoring by Shields with seven points on thee-of-seven shooting (42.9 percent). Kandel was second in scoring with six points. Sophomore forward Caitlyn Ruese grabbed a game-high 12 boards to go along with five points. Hiram will continue its five-game home stand on Tuesday when it hosts Bluffton College in a non-conference game at Price Gymnasium. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

MEN

Hiram 80, Wittenberg 77

HIRAM — The Terriers improved to 5-2 overall and 1-0 in the NCAC. The Tigers fell to 2-5 overall and 1-1 NCAC. Hiram looked to make a statement early as the Terriers began the game with a 14-4 scoring run that ended in a three-pointer by sophomore guard Nick Russo at the 16:23 minute mark. Wittenberg responded with an ensuing 9-2 run of its own to make it a one possession game cutting the lead to three points, 16-13, with 13:48 remaining before halftime. The Tigers took their first lead of the game at the 5:42 minute mark on a layup that ended a 7-0 run giving Wittenberg a slim 33-32 advantage. A pair of triples by Russo and sophomore guard Chris Roberts gave the lead back to Hiram and quickly gave the Terriers a five-point margin, 38-33, with 4:55 to go in the period. Wittenberg managed to get to within a point in the final minutes, but Hiram would lead by four points, 43-39, heading into the locker rooms. Hiram began the second half much like the first outscoring Wittenberg, 8-2, in the opening minutes and taking a 10-point lead, 51-41, with 18:14 left in the game. The Terriers led by as many as 12 points in the period, 65-53, thanks to a layup by sophomore forward Babajide Eniola at the 10:49 mark. The Tigers would not go quietly, answering with a 12-2 run that narrowed the gap to 67-65 with 6:59 to play, but was followed up by seven unanswered points by Hiram to regain control with a 74-65 advantage. Wittenberg would again get to within two points, 79-77, with 17 seconds to go and looked to tie the game and send it into overtime. But a crucial rebound by sophomore guard Deon Milton (Oxon Hill, Md./Seed Charter) off a missed three-point attempt by Wittenberg would lead to one of two free-throws which sealed the victory. Wittenberg edged Hiram in field goal percentage shooting 50.8 percent (30-of-59) from the floor as the Terriers still shot an impressive 42.9 percent (27-of-63), including connecting on 10 three-point attempts (10-of-25 overall).

Mount Union 72, Tiffin 59