Scots Go Undefeated in Nan Nichols Classic after 89-80 Win Over Franklin

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster women's basketball team finished 2-0 in the 2018 Nan Nichols Classic following an 89-80 victory over Franklin College on Sunday.

Led by the All-Tournament MVP, senior Anna Gibbs scored a game-high 20 points and added three rebounds and three assists. Between the two games, Gibbs averaged 14.5 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals.

Junior Kylie Orr joined her on the All-Tournament Team. She scored all three of Wooster's 3-pointers in the game and finished with 15 points. Orr averaged 16 points and 2.5 rebounds between the two games.

After hitting 11 3-pointers on Saturday, the women had to find another way to win against Franklin as they went just 3-for-16 (19 percent) from beyond the arc. The Scots shot 46 percent (32-for-70) from the floor and 69 percent (22-for-32) from the charity stripe, but did most of their damage in the paint, outscoring Franklin 46-28.

Playing without Saturday's leading scorer in Kyle Croxton, the women found contribution throughout the lineup.

Akwia Tilton finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Cat Fiorito and Sarah Rapacz each scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Fiorito also recorded a career-high six steals, while Rapacz had a career-high six blocks.

Jena Copley scored a career-high eight points, after an 8-for-8 clip from the foul line. First years Jenna Stanton and A'Janay Nicholson each scored four points.

Franklin was led by Britney Ballard, another All-Tournament Team selection, with 15 points and six rebounds.

The women only held the lead for 7:43. The Scots led 26-25 after the first quarter but a poor second quarter put them behind 52-43 at halftime.

Wooster cut the lead to six at the end of the third, 70-64 and tied it at 72 with seven minutes remaining after an 8-0 run. The freshman Nicholson was a big part of that, scoring her four points in that span.

A basket from Fiorito at 5:38 put Wooster up for good, and the Scots ended the game on a 13-6 run.

Wooster outrebounded the Grizzlies 43-41.

Wooster improves to 2-1 on the season, while Franklin drops to 1-2.

The last time Wooster took both games in the Nan Nichols Classic came in 2015. Gibbs also claimed MVP honors then as well. 

Rounding out the All-Tournament Team was Caitlyn Clendenin from Carnegie Mellon and Harlee Froberg from Finlandia.

Wooster will return to action Tuesday when they travel to Penn State Behrend.