In the coming months, Philips gym will be a lot quieter without the noise of cheering basketball fans. The Yeowomen ended their season Tuesday night after a tough fight against Ohio Wesleyan University in the first round of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament. The loss to OWU came after two hard fought battles against Ohio Wesleyan and Wittenberg University in the final leg of their regular conference season.

Oberlin entered their final regular season game against the Wittenberg Tigers hungry for a victory. A win would have given them a total of ten victories, a record the Yeowomen have not seen since 2004.

With 11 minutes and 50 seconds left in the game, the Yeowomen reduced the Tiger’s lead to a mere six points at 52–58. However, the Tigers powered through and added 20 points on the board to seal the victory for Wittenberg.

Sophomore Lindsey Bernhardt led the Yeowomen with 19 points throughout the game. The loss against the Tigers left the team at 9–17 overall and 4–12 in the conference, the same result as the 2012-2013 season.

However, their conference record didn’t dampen the Yeowomen’s spirits as they entered Tuesday night’s game against the Battling Bishops.

“When it comes to the conference tournament, records go out the window. Everyone is 0–0. The name of the game is to survive and advance,” said Head Coach Kerry Jenkins.

The team carried the 0–0 mentality into the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, where they started off with an impressive 8–0 lead against Ohio Wesleyan. The Yeowomen trailed by just two points as the team entered the locker room at halftime.

Junior Christina Marquette added an impressive 21 points and 17 rebounds, while Bernhardt lead the team again with 23 points. Ultimately, the Yeowomen fell to Ohio Wesleyan University 81–72.

Despite maintaining last season’s record, sophomore Caroline Hamilton suggested that there was improvement this season.

“The win column doesn’t do us justice; we’ve been competitive in every single game,” said Hamilton, who finished the season with a total of 111 points.

Hamilton believes that the Yeowomen’s competitive edge stems from the team’s new attitude.

“Every person genuinely wanted to get better,” she said. “Oberlin is no longer the team that other teams look at as a definite win.”

Bernhardt is looking forward to the team’s success in future seasons.

“We have eight returners and some very talented freshmen,” said the sophomore, who finished the season with 361 points. “It looks like we have a very bright future ahead of us.”

While the team is losing three seniors—Allison Gannon, Lillian Jahan and Malisa Hoak— it is will look to first-year Eleanor Van Buren and sophomores Katie Lucaites and Caitlyn Grubb to fill their shoes. Both Lucaites and Grubb have been out this season due to injuries, so their return from the bench next season will be a welcome one.

Jahan, who contributed 17 points in Tuesday’s loss, felt that despite the score, the Yeowomen stayed competitive until the final buzzer.  “Our final game was an unforgettable end to an incredible four years.”