Wooster Squanders Big Lead in 62-58 Loss to Hiram

WOOSTER, Ohio – Leading by as much as 17 points, The College of Wooster women's basketball team appeared set to rout Hiram College, but the Fighting Scots were held scoreless over a 7:47 stretch in the second half, allowing the Terriers to rally back and eventually win 62-58 in North Coast Athletic Conference action Wednesday evening at Timken Gymnasium.

The Scots (1-5, 0-1 NCAC) led for all but 1:17 in the first half, and were often times ahead by double-digits, including when Karley Walker buried a 3-pointer to give them a 15-4 cushion. Keshia Butler was 4-of-5 shooting in the opening stanza, and her jumper with 3:51 remaining before the break gave Wooster a 30-17 advantage. Wooster's lead maxed out at 17 points (34-17) when Kristen Schwartz scored back-to-back buckets in the paint, but Hiram cut its deficit to 12 heading into halftime.

Holding a 39-28 lead just over three minutes into the second period, Wooster suddenly went cold, shooting 0-of-8 during 7:47 of action, and committing several costly turnovers. Hiram (3-0, 1-0 NCAC) took advantage by putting together an impressive 17-0 scoring run, highlighted by Calysia Smyers' 3-ball that gave the Terriers a 45-39 lead with about 10 minutes to go in the game.

Wooster regained its composure, and Suvi Puripattarapan hit one of her three 3-pointers of the evening to make it a one possession game (58-55). The Terriers then missed a pair of foul shots, and Walker splashed a 3-ball of her own to tie the game at 58-58 with 27 seconds remaining.

Following a quick Wooster foul, Jessica Cowan scored her only two points of the night from the charity stripe. Hiram's defense then clamped down on Wooster's final possession and didn't allow a shot attempt, leading to its third-consecutive victory.

Hiram shot only 31.8 percent from the field, and 45.8 percent from the free throw line, but had just 12 turnovers compared to Wooster's 19.

Walker led the Scots scoring efforts with 15 points, while Butler added 14 and Schwartz recorded 12 points and nine rebounds.

Smyers paced Hiram with 17 points, four boards, and three steals.

Next up, Wooster visits Ursuline College (1-6) in a non-conference tilt next Wednesday at 7 p.m.