Grier's 3's Propel Wooster to 79-63 Win Over Geneva

Sydney Grier scored a career-high 21 points, including five of The College of Wooster's 11 3-pointers, to lead the Fighting Scots to their first win of the season, a decisive 79-63 victory over Geneva College on Wednesday evening at Beaver Falls, Pa.

This year's match-up between the Scots (1-2) and the Golden Tornadoes (1-1) was very similar to last year's meeting. In both games, the teams were separated by just one point at halftime, only to see Wooster pull away down the stretch for a double-digit victory. Last season, the Scots won by 15 (82-67), while tonight it was a 16-point margin.

It's also clear that Grier matches up well with this opponent, as she connected on five 3-pointers against Geneva last season as well. This time around, she added two lay-ups and a pair of free throws for a career-best 21 points.

Wooster jumped out to an early 16-9 advantage after Rachel Collins hit a 3-ball about six minutes into the action, but Geneva chipped away to tie the game at 23-23. From that point on, neither team led by more than two points for the remainder of the first half, with Aki Shurelds sinking the first basket of her career – a 3-pointer – to give the Scots a one-point lead (40-39) at the break.

The game remained close for the start of the second half, with the score knotted at 45-45, but then Wooster made its move. The Scots went on a 10-2 scoring run over the next three minutes, which included two rare 3-pointers from Lauren Hancher. Entering the game, Hancher had made just one other 3-pointer in her career.

Wooster's cushion reached 15 points (67-52) when Natalie Coschigano scored on a lay-up, but Geneva made things interesting, as it pulled back within six (69-63) with 2:19 to go. From there, the Scots closed out the game on a 10-0 run, including seven straight points from Sydney Failing, to notch the win.

While Grier's 21 points may have pushed Wooster over the top, it was Hancher that led all scorers with 24 points, with Failing (12 points) and Collins (10 points) also reaching double-figures. Another key was the Scots' effort at the free throw line, where they went 18-for-21 (.857).

Next, Wooster visits Bluffton University (1-1) on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip.