Kym Wenz í10 became the teamís all-time three-point leader in a losing effort last Saturday at the hands of Kenyon College (10-3, 3-1 NCAC).† Although the Fighting Scots (4-10, 1-4 NCAC) lost the game 53-50, it was Wenzís record-breaking three-point shot that began Woosterís rally from a 12-point deficit with 9:06 remaining in the second half.† During the next two minutes, Wenz successfully completed three more three-point shots to draw the Scots within one point of the Ladies.
The Scots took their first lead† with three minutes left in the game when Keshia Butler í12 connected with Jessica Wingen í13 to put Wooster up 48-47.† In a series of two sets of foul shots, Kenyonís Kathleen Williams regained the lead for the Ladies.† The back-and-forth scoring action continued for the remaining time in the game, until Kenyon gained a 53-50 advantage with 11 seconds left in the game, when Wooster called a timeout.† Unfortunately, the Scots were unable to capitalize on a final play and fell in† another North Coast Athletic Conference game.
By the end of the game, Wenzís career three-point total reached 135, surpassing the previous record of 131, which was held for six years by Lindsey Schaaf.† Wenz scored a total of 19 points throughout the game, and 17 of those came in the second half during which the Scots outscored the Ladies 34-24.
Additionally, Kristen Schwartz í12 scored 10 points, following her career-high of 13 points in the Scotsí last game against Denison University. Co-captain Kaitlin Krister í10 added a total of nine points and three blocked shots, while Taylor Keegan í11 added seven.
The Fighting Scots triumphed over Denison University (10-4, 2-3 NCAC) the day before their close loss to Kenyon,† ending a 19-game losing streak against the Big Red since the 2000-01 season with a 72-59 win.
The second half began with Wooster trailing 31-30, but the Scots came back onto the court fired up and began a 21-5 point run at the start of the second half, which began as Keegan scored a three-point shot off a pass from Samantha Justice í12.† Wenz helped the Scots to an eight-point lead (40-32), but it was shortened to six by Denisonís Shaina Kaiser.† Wooster responded with points by Kristen Schwartz and Krister to increase its lead to 13 points (47-34).† A three-point shot by Colleen Goodwillie í10† and baskets by Wenz and Schwartz brought Woosterís lead to 20 points (62-42) over the Big Red with 3:54 in the second half.
Denison then scored 10 unanswered points over the next two minutes, making the score 62-52, but began to foul on each possession.† Wenz converted on 10 of her 12 free-throws in the final 1:38.† The senior guard finished the game with 32 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals with just one turnover.
Schwartz scored a career-high of 13 points, and Keegan added eight points and seven rebounds.† Krister recorded 11 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.† Denisonís key players were Shaina Kaiser, who had 17 points, and Christina Myers with 15 points and eight rebounds.
Since the home opener loss to John Carroll University in the Timken Gymnasium, the Scots have played 16 games, including four North Coast Athletic Conference losses to Allegheny College (68-55), Wittenberg University (61-53), Ohio Wesleyan University (70-60) and Kenyon College (53-50).† The Scotsí sole NCAC win came over Denison (72-59).† Their record stands at 4-10 overall and 1-3 in the NCAC.
The Fighting Scots hosted Hiram (2-11, 1-3 NCAC) on Wednesday night and will face Earlham (2-11, 1-4 NCAC) on Saturday, Jan. 16 in the Timken Gymnasium at 3 p.m.
If the Scots manage two consecutive wins, they could find themselves amongst the top teams in the NCAC.† With 10 conference games remaining, Wooster will have the opportunity to reverse their early season woes in time for the conference tournament.