First Half Struggles Doom Scots in 72-59 Setback at Kenyon

Plagued by a cold first-half shooting performance from the floor, The College of Wooster watched as home-standing Kenyon College surged out to a quick 6-0 lead during a rugged opening stanza for the Fighting Scots, propelling the Ladies to a 72-59 North Coast Athletic Conference victory Saturday evening inside Tomsich Arena.

The Scots (7-14, 5-7 NCAC) connected on only 7-of-28 shots in the opening period for 25 percent, including a chilly 1-of-9 from three-point territory, as the hosts raced out to the early six-point lead and never looked back. The Ladies' (10-11, 9-4 NCAC) defense held the Scot attack scoreless for the first 6:15 of the game until Becca Hartsock came off the bench and knocked down a free throw, making the score 6-1.

The two teams traded points over the ensuing trips, as Kenyon maintained their two-possession advantage at 11-5 with 12:38 left. Over the next trips to the offensive end, Wooster rattled off a 6-0 spurt via a pair of free throws from Kym Wenz, and back-to-back jumpers from Hartsock and Wenz knotted the contest at 11-11 with 11:09 remaining in the half. However, Kenyon managed runs of 11-2 and 12-4 over nearly a seven-minute stretch and held their largest lead of the contest at 35-17 with 4:23 showing on the first-half clock.

After exchanging baskets once again, Wooster scored the final five points of the opening stanza, turning a 39-21 score into a 13-point cushion (39-26) for Kenyon headed into the break.

The second period saw Wooster dwindle the Ladies' lead down to eight at 48-40 on a three-pointer by Wenz with 13:49 remaining. Kenyon responded with a 10-2 run, including three makes from beyond the arc, covering 4:06 and witnessed its lead balloon back out to 16 at 58-42.

Wooster scored six of the next eight points, slicing the hosts' lead back to 12 (60-48) with 7:40 to play before the Ladies quickly pushed the bulge back out to 16, as it stayed between 15 and 18 points until a lay-up from Wooster's Keshia Butler at the buzzer made the final count 72-59.

For the game, the Scots finished 19-of-55 from the field (34.5 percent), including a 3-for-15 performance from three-point land, but did knock down 18-of-24 charity tosses for 75 percent. Meanwhile, Kenyon shot nearly 50 percent on the evening, connecting on 28-of-57 shot attempts, including canning six of its 12 shots from long range.  Kenyon nipped Wooster in the rebounding department, grabbing 36 boards to Wooster's 34, but the Ladies forced the Scots into 13 turnovers in the game, converting those in 18 points, while committing 13 of their own, and surrendering just seven markers.

Pacing Wooster was Wenz, who scored 16 of her team-high 25 points in the second half, while contributing a team-best seven rebounds. Close behind was Hartsock, who tossed in a career-high eight points and added three rebounds.  Butler also ended the night with eight points and tied a career-high dishing out six assists while grabbing a career-high four boards.

Leading Kenyon was Morgan Korinek off the bench, who scored 18 points and yanked down six rebounds, while Suzanne Kahle and Laurel Stokes tallied 15 and 12 points, respectively. Also of note, Taylor Lenci scored just one field goal, but lead her team with seven rebounds and six helpers.

The Scots will stay on the road and travel to Hiram College (6-15, 4-8 NCAC) on Wednesday in a key conference battle beginning at 6:00 p.m. The Scots defeated the Terriers back on January 17 inside Timken Gymnasium by a 70-61 count.