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| Kylie Orr |
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| Anna Gibbs |
WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster women's basketball team, led by a co-season-high 21 points from junior Anna Gibbs, defeated Allegheny College 66-53 to take sole control of seventh-place in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings heading into the final three games of the regular season.
The Fighting Scots (5-17, 3-10 North Coast Athletic Conference) posted one of their most efficient performances of the season, marked by a near season-best 41.7 percent shooting, while down low, Wooster outscored the Gators 28-14 in the paint.
Wooster's 14 assists, including seven from Gibbs alone, marked the second-highest total this season while the team's 66 points stood as the fifth-highest total this year.
The Scots, who never trailed on the night, opened the game on a 13-0 run as part of a 20-6 first period. Four different players tallied field goals during that run with first-year Sarah Rapacz capping the streak at the 4:56 mark with a layup off the assist from classmate Sarah Marion, who earned her first collegiate start on Wednesday.
After four straights points from Allegheny (5-16, 2-11 NCAC), senior Aki Shurelds kick-started a 7-0 run over a two-minute span with a layup in the lane before sophomore Kylie Orr, who pulled down a career-high eight rebounds, connected on one of her three 3-pointers of the night to close the Scots' first-period scoring.
In the second, Allegheny slowly chipped away at the deficit behind an 11-for-12 showing at the foul line. At the half, the Gators trailed 35-23 despite making just three field goals in the period.
Clutch finishing proved key for Wooster, most notably from Gibbs, who connected on an up-and-under to go up 16 at the start of the second and was the streaking recipient of a bullet pass from Orr at the :35 mark to stave off a 6-0 mini-run from the Gators.
In the third, Allegheny's starters totaled all 16 of their points and held Wooster to 5-for-17 from the floor to inch back within nine going into the final 10 minutes.
During the period, the Gators actually got back to within five at the 3:40 mark before Shurelds and sophomore Erica Roberts combined for four straight points to alleviate the pressure. To boot, Gibbs rolled in a last-second layup to push the lead back to nine entering the fourth.
Despite an offensively stout showing from the Gators in the final 10 minutes, the Scots went above and beyond, shooting 7-for-12 from the field and doubling Allegheny's rebounding total to maintain a double-digit lead for a majority of the period and come away with their third straight victory over the Gators dating back to last season.
Gibbs and Marion each garnered three steals while Orr and Shurelds finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Wednesday's victory marks the Scots' first season sweep over a conference opponent since the 2009-10 season (Earlham & Oberlin).
Up next, Wooster hosts Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. as part of "senior day."