Wittenberg University had won all 14 of its North Coast Athletic Conference games this season, and had 16-straight regular season league wins dating back to 2008-09, but The College of Wooster women's basketball team were better on Saturday, as Kym Wenz scored 35 points to lead the Fighting Scots to an emphatic 74-61 win over their arch-rivals at Springfield, Ohio.
The win marked Wooster's first against Wittenberg since Feb. 17, 2007 (70-56), and improved the Scots (10-13, 7-7 NCAC) to .500 in conference play with two games remaining. The Scots, who have now won three in a row, have a legitimate chance to host a tournament game. Wooster moved a win ahead of Allegheny College (9-13, 6-7 NCAC) to take sole possession of fifth place, but a game between the Gators and third place Denison University (15-7, 7-6 NCAC) later Saturday will have significant implications on the standings.
Colleen Goodwillie splashed a 3-pointer on a Kristen Schwartz assist to open the game, and Wooster held on to a slight lead until Wittenberg tied things up 8-8. The Tigers held a narrow 18-17 advantage with 10 minutes remaining until the break, when the Scots went on a 13-3 run that included 11 points and two deep 3-balls by Wenz which put Wooster in control 30-20 with 5:53 on the clock.
Wooster then went cold as Wittenberg amassed its own impressive run, an 11-0 tilt over a three minute span, that put them back ahead by one (31-30). Jessica Wingen got the Scots going again by hitting back-to-back lay ups and then knocking down a pair of free throws that put Wooster ahead by five, which is where the cushion remained heading into halftime (38-33).
The Tigers scored six unanswered points to start the second stanza and took a 39-38 lead, but the Scots put together another big run, this time going 12-2, with Wenz and Wingen scoring a combined 10 points, to put Wooster on top 50-41 with 11:51 remaining in the tilt.
Schwartz gave Wooster its first double-digit lead (52-42) with a basket in the paint on a Taylor Keegan dish, and the Scots led by at least six, and as much as 13, throughout the game's closing 10 minutes.
Wenz scored the team's last 12 points of the contest, and finished with a game-high 35 points, two less than the career-high 37 she dropped earlier this season. She went 13-of-15 from the field, and 5-of-8 from behind the arc, while also pulling down nine rebounds.
For her career, Wenz now has exactly 1,500 points, becoming only the second player in Wooster history (Katie Montague, 1,610), and 15th in the NCAC, to reach the milestone.
Also making an impact was Wingen, who scored a career-high 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and Schwartz, who was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field with 11 points, pushing her season field goal percentage to a team-best .571.
As a team, Wooster shot a season-high .519 (28-of-54) while limiting Wittenberg to a 31 percent shooting clip (18-of-58), which includes a 3-of-21 effort from behind the 3-point line. The Scots outrebounded the Tigers 41-33, and scored more in the paint (32-22) in what was a decisive win.
Wooster will hit the road Monday to visit second-seeded Ohio Wesleyan University (16-6, 11-2 NCAC) at 7:30 p.m.