Scots' Comeback Bid Falls Short in 62-60 Loss at Westminster

The College of Wooster women's basketball team mounted a furious comeback in its non-conference match up with Westminster College on Monday evening inside Buzz Ridl Gymnasium, cutting a 16-point deficit (60-44) with 5:28 on the clock down to just two (62-60) with 15 seconds remaining, but the Fighting Scots' luck ran out, as Meredith Wilson's three-point attempt was blocked and came up short in the final seconds to give the host Titans a 62-60 win.

With the loss, Wooster slips to 3-5 overall, while Westminster improves to 3-6.

Kaitlin Krister started the comeback for the Scots with a lay-up followed by a three-pointer from Kym Wenz and a jumper by Deanna Pickett after stealing the ball from Westminster's Katherine Khattab, as the Wooster defense forced the Titans to commit five of their 15 turnovers for the game in the final 5:28 of the contest.

On the ensuing possession, Justice knocked down two charity tosses, and cut the lead to six at 60-54 with 2:22 remaining, but Khattab scored the only basket for the Titans during Wooster's comeback bid just 10 seconds later and pushed their lead back out to eight (62-54).

Baskets by Pickett, Justice and Wenz for Wooster trimmed the Westminster lead to two. After Wooster was forced to foul to stop the clock, Westminster's Kaitlin McCarthy missed the first of two free throws, as Wilson grabbed the defensive rebound, raced the ball up the floor, setting up the final sequence of events.

The two squads started by trading buckets for the game's first 4:10, as Wooster rattled off a 9-1 spurt capped off on a jumper by Samantha Justice, and held its largest lead of the game at 14-5 with 13:18 left. That advantage would shrink to one for the visitors, as the Titans went on an 8-0 run. The teams traded buckets before the hosts went on a 6-2 run to end the half with a five-point cushion at 33-28.

Wooster opened the second stanza cutting the deficit to four points (35-31) in the opening minutes of the second stanza on a jumper and free throw by Keshia Butler, but Westminster responded with an 8-2 run of its own and pushed the advantage to 10 (43-33) with 15:04 remaining. The Titan lead remained in double figures, and held their largest advantage at 16 setting up Wooster's final run.

Two Scots hit double figures in the game led by Wenz who netted 18 points to go with seven rebounds. Wilson joined her with 10 points, while Krister tallied seven points and a team-best 10 rebounds. Also of note, Pickett notched eight points and a career-high eight rebounds.

Amy Dolsak led four Westminster players in double figures with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Emily Dolsak and Gina Brunetti chipped in with 14 tallies apiece. McCarthy added 10 points along with dishing out a game-high seven assists.

Wooster returns home after the new year as the Scots jump back into North Coast Athletic Conference play and improve on their 1-0 conference record when they host Denison University (3-5, 1-0 NCAC) inside Timken Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m.