On the Verge of History

Hiram's Women's Basketball team is close to setting a record

With a win tonight, the Hiram Women's Basketball team will break the school record for most wins in a single season. The Terriers, who just recently broke a four game losing streak on Senior night this past Saturday, are 5-6 at home and 5-5 on the road, for an overall record of 12-12. A win in their final game will propel them over .500 winning percentage, but it will not come easy.

The Terriers will be taking on Denison, who is 9-1 at home and 8-2 on the road, for an overall record of 20-3. Denison also just recently sealed the first place spot in the NCAC with their win at Kenyon. Leading Denison's offense is Junior, Jordan Holmes, who is averaging 15.3 points per game with a dominating shooting percentage of 61.9 percent from the floor. An additional six players on Denison's roster heavily contribute to their offensive threats, posting up averages that range from five to nine points per game.

Freshman Guard, Erica Johnson, spoke about the importance of shutting down Jordan Holmes of Denison. Johnson said that, "We need to work on our defense. We're going to be fronting them and then working on our help side defense. So we just need to make sure that we work on that in practice".

Kaylee Shockley led the Terriers in their last game against Oberlin with 20 points. Mercedes Jones will also be a necessary component in the Terriers' game plan. Mercedes is the team's leading scorer, averaging 15.7 points per game and shooting 45 percent from the floor.

When asked about how Mercedes will be incorporated into the team's strategy against Denison, Johnson said that, "It's important to get both inside and outside looks, so we just have to make sure that when Mercedes is open, ... [we] get the ball into her pretty fast".

With a win tonight, Hiram will end the season one game above .500 and place in the fourth, fifth or sixth seed, pending the remaining conference play for the other teams. With a Denison win tonight, Denison would advance to 21-3 overall and there would be no change in seeding.

There are no significant injuries in the game tonight. Tipoff is at Denison University and is set for 6 tonight.

A second half to remember

Hiram, Ohio - Only one win left! Hiram's Women's Basketball courageously fought to the very end of tonight's game versus Oberlin College. The Terriers won 53-50 in a comeback fashion with a large fan base of family and friends for Senior night. Hiram had multiple scoring contributors. Kaylee Shockley led the team with 20 points followed by Mercedes Jones, who had 12 points herself.

When asked about what was the turning point in today's game, Head Coach Emily Hays said, "I felt like... I'll be honest. It all kinda went together!" followed by unanimous laughter around the room.

After a rough start in the first quarter, shooting only 13.3 percent as a team, and an average second quarter, Hiram went into the locker room down 24-18. After the half, we saw a completely different team as the Terriers came out energized and focused. They slowly began chipping away at Oberlin's lead. The girls narrowed Oberlin's lead to six points at the end of the third quarter and then turned up the heat. Hiram caused nine Oberlin turnovers in the fourth quarter and quickly converted them into points.

Despite Oberlin shooting 53.8 percent from the floor compared to Hiram's 28.3 percent, Hiram was able to pull off a three point victory with the help from their defense. Oberlin had 34 turnovers while Hiram limited their own to only 14 turnovers. Hiram also played smart with their fouls by only sending Oberlin to the line for four foul shots the entire game. On the other hand, Hiram had 19 foul shots, from which they converted 15 points.

Hiram (12-12) is now 5-6 at home and 5-5 on the road. With tonight's win, Hiram gains a one game advantage over Oberlin in securing the sixth spot in the NCAC. Hiram is also one win away from breaking the most wins in a single season record. Hiram plays their final game at Denison on Wednesday at 6. Oberlin College (10-13) now drops to 5-5 at home and 5-6 on the road and will play Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday.

Looking for a crucial win on Senior night

Hiram, Ohio - The Hiram women's basketball team is still on the verge of setting the single season wins record despite their recent slump. The Terriers are 4-6 at home and 5-5 on the road, rounding out an overall record of 11-12. In order to break the record, Hiram must win both of their last two games of the season. It all starts with a crucial win here tonight on Senior night. The Terriers are on a four game losing streak and will be looking to break that. Sophomore Mercedes Jones has been leading the charge for the Terriers, scoring points in the double digits in the last five games, with a high of 28 points. 

Tonight's opponent is Oberlin College. Oberlin is 5-5 at home, 5-5 away and has an overall record of 10-12. In the last time these two teams faced, Hiram jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter until halftime, but came out a different team in the second half. Oberlin routed Hiram by a score of 55-35. Rebounding was also part of the issue in the last game as Oberlin out rebounded Hiram 51-27. It will be interesting to see how both teams respond since the last time that they matched up.

With a win tonight, Hiram will maintain their sixth rank in the NCAC while simultaneously suppressing Oberlin's attempt to reach the sixth spot. This game is crucial for both teams due to the season coming to a close and seeding for the tournament right around the corner. 

There are no significant injuries going into tonight's Senior night. Tipoff is at Price Gymnasium at 1.

Hiram's Women's Basketball suffers a disappointing loss

Hiram, Ohio - The Terriers battled hard but could not hold off Wooster as they fell 65-50. The first two quarters were a constant battle back and forth. In fact, Hiram jumped out to a two point lead after the first quarter and held a five point lead during the second quarter. The remainder of the second quarter favored Wooster as they climbed back, took the lead and never let up. It seemed as if the final play of the half, when Wooster's Anna Gibbs drained a buzzer beating three-pointer, was the final blow to the Terriers. Leading the offensive charge for the Terriers was Mercedes Jones with 16 points, followed by Savana Lowery's 12 points.

When discussing Hiram's second half performance, Coach Emily Hays said, "We are a young team, so consistency is huge. It's something that we are still trying to find".

Wooster made a statement right out of the locker room after halftime by going on a huge run to take a commanding lead over the Terriers, which never wavered. Lauren Hancher lead the Fighting Scots with an incredible 32 points, shooting 14-22 from the floor. Wooster also shot a full 10 percent higher as a team than Hiram, finishing with a shooting percentage of 45.5 percent.

Emily Hays summed up the Terriers' issues by saying, "[We] need to start believing in ourselves...It's not just Xs and Os, but more so it's a mental type of game."

Hiram is now 11-12 overall with a conference record of 5-9. Wooster improves to 6-16 overall, with a conference record of 2-11. The Terriers will take on Oberlin College at home on Saturday in their second to last game of the season.

Getting back on the right track

Hiram, Ohio - The Hiram women's basketball team is looking to get back on the right track tonight by breaking their three game losing streak with a win over the conference's last place team, Wooster. The Terriers are 4-5 at home and 5-5 on the road, for an overall record of 11-11. With only three games remaining in the season and two wins needed to break the most wins in a single season record, a win in tonight's game would give the women a very good chance to achieve their goal. Mercedes Jones has been the Terriers' dominating scorer over the last four games. Jones is averaging 17 points per game in the last four games.

Tonight's opponent is the Wooster Fighting Scots, who is 4-6 at home and 1-10 on the road, for an overall record of 5-16: the Fighting Scots are currently on a 13 game losing streak. These teams met two weeks ago, which ended in a 61-53 Terrier win in overtime. Mercedes Jones was a key factor in the last time these teams met with a double-double. Jones had 18 points to go along with her 12 rebounds.

A win tonight would put Hiram one step closer to achieving their ever so elusive goal of breaking the single season wins record. A win would also give Hiram some momentum heading into the remaining two conference games to try to boost their standings rank as the difference between fourth place and seventh place is only a two game lead. A loss tonight for Wooster would eliminate all hopes for them to escape the last spot in the conference.

There are no significant injuries going into tonight's game. Tipoff is at Hiram College's Price Gymnasium and is set for 6 tonight.

Still Chasing History

The Terriers are close to shattering a record

The Hiram women's basketball team is still chasing history with only five games remaining in the season. A win in tonight's game versus Wittenberg would tie the record for most wins in a single season, while two wins out of the remaining five would break the record. The Terriers currently stand at 4-5 at home and 5-3 on the road, for an overall record of 11-9. With both teams coming off of a one game losing streak and Hiram only leading Wittenberg by one game in the NCAC conference standings, this game is crucial for both teams.

Tonight's opponent, Wittenberg, is 3-5 at home and 1-6 on the road, for an overall record of 5-12. In their last appearance, Hiram dominated by a final score of 62-44. In fact, the Terriers jumped out to an early lead and never let up as they scored more points than Wittenberg in all four quarters and shot nearly 50 percent as a team. Mercedes Jones and Kaylee Shockley led the charge for the Terriers with 17 and 16 points respectively. Allison Vannoy was just shy of a triple-double in her last game against Wittenberg with nine points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

With a win tonight, Hiram will gain a competitive edge over Wittenberg by taking a two game lead over Wittenberg to hold and/or advance from the fifth spot in the NCAC. Both teams still have great opportunities to improve their records though. Hiram has four more conference games and Wittenberg has five more conference games to wrap up their seasons.

There are no signficant injuries impacting tonight's game. Tipoff will be at Wittenberg at 7 tonight.