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Issued: November 25, 2006
OTTERBEIN CAPTURES THIRD PLACE IN THANKSGIVING SHOWCASE
EAU CLAIRE – Otterbein College sprinted to a 16-4 lead in the first 6:05 of the contest and rolled to its first win of the season, a 71-55 decision over Viterbo University, in the third place game of the 15th Annual Eau Claire Thanksgiving Showcase at the W. L. Zorn Arena here Saturday night. The Cardinals, an Ohio Athletic Conference team from Westerville, Ohio, took advantage of poor Viterbo shooting and a rash of turnovers to mount a 42-18 halftime advantage. While Otterbein converted 16 of 25 shots from the field including 4 of 6 treys, Viterbo connected on just 24 percent (6 of 25) and missed all eight of its three-point attempts in the first half. The Cardinals aided their 64 percent shooting by scoring 10 points on the fast break and also took capitalized with 17 points on Viterbo’s 13 turnovers. Otterbein’s 5-7 sophomore guard Laura Roth almost outscored Viterbo herself in the first half, pouring in 17 points on 7 of 8 shooting. While Viterbo held her scoreless in the second half, she still finished as Otterbein’s leading scorer. Picking up the slack in the second half were Katy Miller who finished with 15 and Ana Gamble who totaled 13. In absorbing its fourth loss in succession and sixth in seven outings this year, Viterbo followed the same script from its opening round loss to Morningside College. The La Crosse school fell behind, 44-16, in the first half of that contest, shooting 27 percent with 14 turnovers. But they came back to score 33 in the second half and lost, 81-49. Saturday, the V-Hawks outscored Otterbein, 37-29, in the final 20 minutes. However, the closest they could get to Otterbein was 14 points at 52-38 with 8:09 remaining in the contest. From that point on, Otterbein kept a comfortable 15 to 22 point lead. Otterbein, now 1-3 for the season, finished with 48 percent shooting from the field including 6 of 13 treys. Viterbo turned the ball over 28 times for the game, allowing Otterbein to convert 31 points. Viterbo held a 35-29 advantage on the board which led to a 24-14 edge in points in the paint. Leah Olson, a 5-3 sophomore guard, was the only Viterbo player to reach double figures, scoring 11 points. Katie Mechling, a 5-10 freshman who was the only player to reach double figures Friday night against Morningside, contributed nine points. Katina Mandylaris, a 5-11 freshman from Australia, added seven points and pulled a game-high eight rebounds. Otterbein-Viterbo Box Score - TP -
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