The women’s basketball team earned its first North† Coast Athletic Conference victory last week, topping the Yeowomen of Oberlin College 66-57 in overtime in Oberlin, Ohio.† Forward Jessica Wingen ’13 led all scorers with 19 points and contributed eight rebounds as part of a two-game stretch that earned her NCAC Player of the Week honors. The Scots (3-19, 1-11 NCAC) took advantage of their 21 trips to the free throw line, making 20 shots, while their bench outscored Oberlin’s (7-15, 2-9 NCAC) 15-2.
The two teams opened the game with strong runs. Wooster took a 20-9 lead to start the game before the Yeowomen scored the next eight points to make it 20-17. The Scots held a 26-23 lead at halftime. The teams reversed roles in the second half, as Oberlin began with a 17-6 run to take a 40-32 lead.
With 12 minutes left, Samantha Sulzer ’14 hit a jumper which ignited the Scots as they started an 11-2 run. to gain a 43-43 advantage. Oberlin’s Kelly Warlich hit two free throws to give the Yeowomen a one-point lead, but Wooster would regain the advantage after a layup by Wingen and a three-point basket by Suvi Puripattarapan ’14.
Oberlin’s Malisa Hoak and Allison Anderson would answer with their own layup and three-pointer, respectively, to give the Yeowomen a 49-48 lead. Taylor Keegan ’11 followed that with a three to give Wooster a two-point advantage with 22 seconds left, but Warlich tied the game up with 12 seconds to go and forced the extra session.
The majority of overtime was fairly even. Wingen began the period with four made free throws, but Warlich cut the deficit with a three.
As the Scots nursed a one-point lead with over a minute left, Karley Walker ’14 nailed a jumper to give Wooster a 57-54 advantage. From then on, the Yeowomen would foul on every possession, but to no avail.† Wooster nailed seven of the last eight free throws to seal the victory.
Unfortunately, Wooster could not string another strong performance together when it traveled to Springfield, Ohio on Saturday to take on Wittenberg University (11-12, 6-6 NCAC). Despite 14 points from Keegan and 12 rebounds from Wingen, the Scots were buried by their 27 turnovers, which lead to 25 Tigers’ points in what would be a 29-point blowout, 79-50.† Wittenberg’s Katherine Houghter and Jaclyn Willoughby scored 19 points each. Wooster hosted Allegheny College (14-8, 8-4 NCAC) on Wednesday after press time, and will close its season tomorrow in Timken Gymnasium against Ohio Wesleyan University (12-11, 8-4 NCAC) at 5:30 p.m.
The men’s week followed a similar pattern. At Oberlin (2-21, 1-13 NCAC) on Feb. 9, Wooster (22-2, 13-2 NCAC) found itself trailing 30-28 at the half, looking sluggish coming off of their first loss of the season against Wabash College.
However, the Scots roared out of the gate with a 19-2 run to start the second half, and they never looked back. Ian Franks ’11 led the team with 16 points, while Nathan Balch ’11 contributed 13 of his own on the way to a 79-62 victory over the Yeomen. This would set up a match-up of top 25 teams as the fourth-ranked Scots travelled to number 25 Wittenberg (17-5, 13-1 NCAC) on Saturday.
Wooster looked dominant for most of the game, taking a 42-32 lead into the half and increasing the deficit to as much as 14 during the second period. But with memories of their Jan. 22 collapse against the Scots on their minds, the rival Tigers played suffocating defense to end the game.
While Wittenberg’s Clayton Black scored a career-high 30 points, Wooster did not make a field goal during the last eight minutes, scoring just four points on as many free throws in the final three minutes of the game.
The Tigers took the lead for good when Chris Sullivan made a three-point shot with just under three minutes to go. Wittenberg would close the game on a 15-4 run to defeat the Scots 76-72 and take sole possession of first place in the NCAC.
Wooster rebounded from the loss on Tuesday when it hosted Kenyon College (9-14, 5-10 NCAC) in Timken Gymnasium. The Scots had little trouble disposing of the Lords. Alhough Kenyon started the game up 8-2,† Wooster then went on a 9-0 run and never trailed for the remainder of the game.
Taking a 31-24 lead into the break, Wooster started the second half with a 15-4 run (including a stretch of three consecutive three-pointers) and never found themselves challenged by Kenyon on the way to a 73-58 victory.
Kenyon played hard during the second half, but it became obvious that the game was far out of reach when a 52-41 Wooster lead became a 58-41 lead on two baskets by Balch and one by Franks.
Franks led all scorers with 24 points, including 7-7 shooting from the free throw line. Justin Hallowell ’12 added 19 points and eight rebounds. Balch also got to double digits with 10 points.
The Scots’ defense was rock solid all game, limiting the Lords to 3-18 shooting from beyond the arc and blocking six shots. Wooster also outrebounded Kenyon 47-36.
Wooster will end their regular season against Ohio Wesleyan (14-9, 10-4 NCAC) tomorrow in Timken Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m. The NCAC tournament will begin on Tuesday, as the Scots will try to position themselves for a run in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
There is a poll up on the NCAA’s website for the tournament asking the public if they think that this will be the year that Wooster takes home its first men’s basketball championship. Playing with a target on their back, the Scots will have to work exceedingly hard to do it.