Samantha Sulzer

The College of Wooster women's basketball team led by nine points at half time, and pushed that advantage to 11 early in the second half, but Hiram College chipped away at its deficit and scored the game-winning basket with 0:19 seconds on the clock to hand the Fighting Scots their second straight heartbreaking loss in North Coast Athletic Conference action by a final score of 54-53 Saturday afternoon at Hiram, Ohio.

The Scots (1-4, 0-2 NCAC) went into the break with a 30-21 cushion, thanks in large part to a Jessica Wingen's dominant first half (15 points, 9 rebounds). The 6-0 center also scored the first bucket of the second half to push the lead to 32-21, but then Wooster suffered through an 0-for-8 shooting slump that allowed the Terriers (3-3, 1-0 NCAC) to get back into the game.

Hiram's Tiffany Shields sparked a sudden 12-0 scoring run, which she started with a jumper, and ended with a deep 3-pointer to give the Terriers their first lead (33-32) since early in the first half.

From that moment on, the game went back-and-forth until the final buzzer, as Suvi Puripattarapan responded with a 3-pointer to put the Scots back on top (35-33), where it stayed until Marisa Thomas sunk a pair of free throws to knot the game at 41-41 with 8:52 remaining in regulation.

It remained a one-possession game down the stretch, and with 1:28 left, Samantha Sulzer scored in the paint to give Wooster a three-point lead (53-50). With 0:46 seconds to go, Samantha Morford hit a jumper to pull Hiram within 53-52, and then following a Wooster turnover, Morford came down and drained another shot to give Hiram a 54-53 advantage.

Wingen and Ashley Lindemann both were able to fire off shots in the closing seconds of the game, but neither found the bottom of the net, as the Terriers held on to win in dramatic fashion.

On the stat sheet, Wingen led all scorers with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Sulzer recorded a season-high 12 points to go along with six boards, and Karley Walker added seven points and three assists. Lindemann totaled three steals for the second game in a row.

Hiram's Thomas paced her team with 11 points, while Calysia Smyers nearly logged a double-double (8 points, 10 rebounds).

Next, Wooster will host non-conference opponent Bluffton University on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.