Late Comeback Bid Falls Short as Wooster Drops Key Conference Tilt Against Ohio Wesleyan

WOOSTER, Ohio - The College of Wooster women's basketball team hit a quartet of 3-pointers in the final 3:13, but a spirited comeback attempt came up short as visiting Ohio Wesleyan University hung on for a 65-60 win on Wednesday evening in a key North Coast Athletic Conference Contest at Timken Gymnasium.

Junior Sydney Failing  connected on the first trifecta in the closing stretch, cutting Wooster's (5-15, 1-10 NCAC) deficit to single digits at 58-49 with 3:13 remaining.

The Fighting Scots chipped away at the Battling Bishops' (5-16, 4-8 NCAC) lead again on the next possession with sophomore Kyle Croxton, an OWU transfer, sinking her second 3-pointer of the contest.

First-year Anna Gibbs pulled Wooster even closer, connecting on a layup in the paint with 1:45 remaining, making it a four-point game at 58-54.

Senior Lauren Hancher twice cut Wooster's deficit one possession. First, she drained a 3-pointer with 37 seconds remaining, making the score 60-57. Later, with six ticks left, the Cincinnati, Ohio native connected from outside again, putting the score at 63-60.

Ohio Wesleyan closed out the contest going 5-for-6 at the charity stripe in the final minute. 

Wooster also had a strong end to the first half, trimming eight points off of Ohio Wesleyan's lead over the final 7:02 of the second frame. During that stretch, the Scots combined to shoot 5-for-7 from the floor while adding five points at the free throw line.

First, Hancher sank a jumper prior to Croxton draining a 3-pointer, making it a six-point game at 21-15. Later in the period, Gibbs found a wide-open Sydney Grier to cap a 7-2 run. Hancher went on to add two more field goals in the stanza, to help cut the halftime deficit to three at 29-26.

Hancher led the Scots on the night with 25 points, marking her 20th career 20-point game. During the game, she surpassed Carly Loehrke for third on the College's all-time field goal list, and currently has 538 for her career. Croxton (14 points) and Gibbs (11 points) joined the dual-sport standout in double figures.

Taylor Dickson led OWU with a game-high 29 points, on 11-of-13 shooting.

Of note, Wooster held Megan Kuether to nine points on the night. Kuether entered the day tops in the NCAC at 19.1 points per game.

Next, Wooster heads to Denison University (18-3, 11-1 NCAC) for a 1 p.m. tilt on Saturday.