The College of Wooster women's basketball team notched a win over its North Coast Athletic Conference foe Oberlin College the hard way Wednesday night, as the Fighting Scots squandered an early 19 point lead, and then trailed by as much as 14, but battled back down the stretch to top the Yeowomen 78-74 in overtime at Oberlin, Ohio.
Kym Wenz scored a team-high 25 points, but it was her seven points in the extra period that pushed Wooster (7-10, 4-4 NCAC) past Oberlin (3-13, 2-5 NCAC). Tied 68-68, Wenz started overtime with a 3-ball that gave Wooster a lead (71-68) it would not relinquish. Wenz then went 4-of-4 at the free throw line over the final 1:28 to seal the Scots' third-consecutive win, its longest such streak since a four-gamer during the 2006-07 season.
Wooster looked unstoppable in the game's opening nine minutes, as it raced out to a 26-7 lead behind Kaitlin Krister and Wenz's 11 combined points. The Scots led 11-5, and then added 12 unanswered points, as Samantha Justice dished out assists to Taylor Keegan behind the arc and Kristen Schwartz slashing to the hoop to give Wooster a 19 point advantage with 11 minutes remaining in the half.
Over the next 10 minutes it was all Oberlin, as the Yeowomen went on their own remarkable run, a 27-9 thrashing that culminated in a Ellen Neumann 3-pointer which tied the game 32-32 with 1:54 on the clock.
Krister and Wenz then drained back-to-back baskets, and Jessica Wingen knocked down a shot on a Priscilla Staples assist to put Wooster ahead by six (38-32), but Oberlin cut the lead to only three (38-35) at the break.
Oberlin started the second half with an even more impressive run, as Kelly Walrich nailed three-consecutive 3-balls, and 12 straight points in all, to put the Yewomen ahead 47-38. Their cushion grew to as much as 14 points (55-41) when Syrea Thomas connected on a triple, completing an incredible turnaround and putting them in control with 16 minutes to go in the contest.
The Scots then began to claw back into the game once again, as two Wingen baskets drew Wooster within six (54-59), and later a Keegan rainbow three cut the deficit to two (62-64) with under eight minutes remaining on the clock.
A Kristen Schwartz lay up tied the game 66-66 with 3:42 to go, and the game stayed knotted 68-68 over the last 1:25 in regulation despite a last second buzzer beating attempt by Wenz that wouldn't go, pushing the game into overtime.
It was an impressive night statistically, as Wenz (25 points, 10 rebounds) led three Wooster players who recorded double-doubles. Schwartz set career-highs in points (13) and rebounds (10), while Krister scored 12 points and also pulled down a career-high 16 boards in a dominant outing.
Wingen added 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and Colleen Goodwillie was next with nine points, which included two 3-pointers.
Oberlin was led by Allison Anderson's game-high 28 points, and she added a staggering eight steals, seven rebounds, and six assists.
The Scots used 41 percent (7-of-17) three-point shooting and an 85 percent (11-of-13) clip at the charity stripe to gain an advantage in this contest.
Wooster will look to extend its winning streak to four-straight when it travels to Hiram College (2-13, 1-5 NCAC) on Jan. 27 for a 7:30 p.m. start.