The women’s basketball team opened its season last weekend, winning its first game over the Hartwick University Hawks and falling in its second to the Johnson & Wales University Wildcats. The games came on the road at the Swarthmore College Tip-Off Tournament.

The win over the Hawks was particularly notable, as the Hawks are coming off of a very successful season last year. The Yeowomen faced little resistance and showed little rust in the game, however, breezing their way to an emphatic 66–46 win.

“Hartwick made it to the NCAA tournament last year, so we were expecting it to be a challenging game. But we came out really strong and started really well,” said junior center Katie Lucaites.

In the game, three Oberlin players finished with double figures. Lucaites led the way with a career-high 17 points. Senior forward Christina Marquette added another 15, while junior guard Lindsey Bernhardt contributed 13 points of her own.

The game was pretty evenly matched in the first half, and the Yeowomen went into intermission with only a 28–25 lead, but then exploded in the second half, hitting 14 of 18 shots from the floor. The lead grew to 25 points late in the second half in the dominant effort.

The game was also one of firsts, as first-year forward Abby Andrews received her first collegiate start.

“It was my first collegiate basketball game, and I was so nervous,” she said. “I didn’t really know what to expect, but I quickly relaxed once we started to play. It was a very exciting first win.”

With a short break between games, the Yeowomen were unable to match their intensity from Saturday during their game the next day against Johnson & Wales.

The Yeowomen played well in the first half of the game, ultimately leading by 14 points and to finish the first half with a 37–23 lead. Fatigue caught up to them in the second half, however, and they eventually fell to the Wildcats 62–59.

Bernhardt led the team with a career-best 24 points, tallying five 3-pointers, and Marquette, who was later named to the all-tournament team, added an additional 13 points. Lucaites also chipped in with 10 points of her own.

The game was tied with just under three minutes to play after Johnson and Wales surged ahead with a 16–6 run. The Wildcats kept the momentum going, taking a 59–55 lead with 30 seconds to play. It was a lead they would not relinquish.

“We were playing good defense and our offense was flowing, but in the second half, they came out in a three-two zone, which we had never seen before and hadn’t ever practiced for. We just struggled to make the right adjustments,” said Marquette. “We set a great base for the season and started off much better than we finished last year.”

Despite the series split, Head Coach Kerry Jenkins said he was satisfied with the team’s opening weekend.

“There is always some uncertainty and nervousness that comes with the first game of the season,” he said. “The success of the team is due to the success of the individual, and everyone played well this weekend. I am very proud with how the entire team, on and off the court, performed this weekend.”

The Yeowomen managed to brush aside that uncertainty moving into Wednesday’s game against the Adrian College Bulldogs at home. Oberlin walked away with a 68–59 victory as Marquette and Bernhardt led the way, tallying 20 and 17 points, respectively. The win puts the Yeowomen at 2–1 overall and 1–0 at home.

Oberlin now heads into a flurry of home games starting this Saturday, Nov. 22 against the Trine University Thunder at 2 p.m. The Yeowomen will then face the Thiel College Tomcats on Monday and the Denison University Big Red on Wednesday night to finish out the three-game streak.