Wooster's Defense Keys 55-51 Victory Over Waynesburg

WOOSTER, Ohio – Jessica Wingen and Maura Hall recorded double-doubles, and The College of Wooster limited Waynesburg University to just 24.3 percent shooting from the field (18-for-74) in a 55-51 non-conference victory Saturday afternoon at Timken Gymnasium.

The Scots (4-3) held a lead over Waynesburg (3-6) for all but the opening minute of the game, but the Yellow Jackets kept the score close, and were within 37-32 with about 13 minutes remaining in the second half.

It was at that point that Wooster put together a 7-0 scoring run, that included two nearly identical plays where Hall passed to Suvi Puripattarapan under the basket for easy lay-ups, to take a seemingly comfortable 12-point lead at 44-32. The Scots led again by 12 (46-34) with 9:48 to go when Rachel Huxhold sunk a short jumper in the paint.  

The Yellow Jackets went on their own run, though, scoring 11 points in just over four minutes of action to pull within 48-45, the closest they had been since late in the first half.

Karley Walker hit her third 3-pointer of the game moments later to push Wooster's cushion to six (53-47), but back-to-back jumpers from Waynesburg's Brittany Spencer made it a two-point game (53-51) with just 13 seconds remaining in regulation.

With no choice but to foul, Waynesburg immediately sent Wingen to the free throw line, where she made a pair to give Wooster its final 55-51 margin. The Yellow Jackets missed a desperation 3-pointer on their final possession.

Wooster not only held Waynesburg's shooters in check, but it won the rebounding battle 63-44, which was one of the highest rebounding totals in program history. Wingen had 14 boards to go along with a game-high 16 points, marking her fifth double-double in seven games so far this season. She also added four blocked shots.

Also piling up a double-double was Hall with 12 points (8-for-13 free throws) and 10 boards, while Walker just missed one with 15 points and a career-high eight rebounds. Huxhold corralled a career-high eight boards as well.

Leading Waynesburg was Spencer with 12 points, 10 of which came in the second half.

Next, the Scots will hosts Ohio Mid-Western College on Monday at 6 p.m.