Timo Nurmi
Contributing Writer
Thomas Pitney
Sports Editor
The Wooster Fighting Scots women’s basketball team collided on the court with the Hiram Terriers this past Saturday, Jan. 29. In an intense game that featured a closely-contested first half, Hiram pulled away in the second half to defeat the Scots by a score of 80-54.
Hiram got off to a fast start, as they scored 19 points to the Scots’ six in the first quarter. Despite being down at the start of the second quarter, the Fighting Scots lived up to their name and crawled back into the game with a dominant second quarter in which they outscored the Terriers 22-9. The second quarter was an impressive display of teamwork from the Scots, as several members of the team contributed to the rally. During the stretch, Harley Halloway ’24 and Krista English ’22 made multiple buckets, while Masani Francis ’22 collected an assist. With just three second remaining in the first half, Tamara Turner ’25 put an exclamation point on the Scots’ second-quarter comeback by making a three-point shot on a Holloway assist to go into the locker room at halftime deadlocked with the Terriers 28-28.
Unfortunately for the Scots, Hiram’s offense once again fired on all cylinders throughout the second half. Powered by their offense, the Terriers pulled away from Wooster and the third quarter ended with a score of 55-38. Hiram continued their offensive explosion and their lead only grew in the fourth quarter, resulting in an 80-54 defeat for the Scots. With this loss, the Fighting Scots women’s basketball team fell to an in-conference record of 3-5.
Halloway was a standout for Wooster, as she led the Scots in scoring with a whopping 18 points. Turner also made waves on the court, scoring the second-most points for the Scots. Speaking on the team’s impressive run in the second quarter, Holloway attributed the Scots’ success to their growing confidence. Despite falling behind early, the Scots resolved to climb back into the game. “I think we realized that our first quarter wasn’t what we represented as a team, and we got a little more determined and that helped out in the second quarter,” said Halloway. She also believed that the second quarter was a statement of the team’s unity, saying, “I think we did really well working as a team and trying to come back as a whole and not just as one person, we all individually contributed to help.”
In addition to the Scots’ positive takeaways from the game, they also were able to find areas of the game upon which to improve. Holloway believed that “I think the team fell short on defense, we didn’t help out as much as we usually do.” Having recognized both their successes and their shortcomings, the Wooster women’s basketball team maintains hope that they will bounce back during its last six games of the season. Roll Scots!
Wooster looks to get back in the win column on Sunday, Jan. 6 when it goes on the road to square off against Kenyon College.