Scots Can't Cool Off Streaking Kenyon

The College of Wooster women's basketball team held a slight lead about 12 minutes into regulation, but Kenyon College strung together a quick scoring run to take a 41-27 advantage into the break, and then the Ladies used that cushion to secure a 70-53 victory over the Scots Tuesday evening in a North Coast Athletic Conference matchup at Gambier, Ohio.

The Scots (1-10, 0-3 NCAC), who have struggled out of the gates in recent games, appeared to be headed in that direction against the Ladies (10-2, 3-0 NCAC). Kenyon jumped out to a nine-point lead (13-4), and stayed ahead by nine at 16-7, until Wooster began to click on both ends of the court.

Jessica Wingen scored on a lay-up, and a Samantha Sulzer steal on the other end led to another Wingen basket in transition to cut the deficit to five (16-11). Moments later, Maura Hall sunk a free throw (16-12), and Sarah Abboud sparked a fast break with a steal followed by a dish to Suvi Puripattarapan who slashed to the hoop to pull Wooster within 16-14.

Both teams traded baskets for the next two minutes, and with 8:21 remaining in the first half, Wingen dropped in a bucket in the paint to give Wooster a 21-20 lead.

The Ladies eventually regained the lead, but Wooster kept within striking distance until a 12-2 scoring run turned a slight Kenyon advantage (29-25) into a 14-point cushion (41-27) heading into halftime.

Wooster cut its deficit to as little as 10 points on several occasions during the second half, including once on a Puripattarapan 3-pointer that made it 57-47 with 6:47 left on the clock. However, Kenyon utilized trips to the free throw line to steadily pull away down the stretch.

Overall, the Scots shot 34.5 percent from the field (20-of-58), but converted just 3-of-16 shots from behind the arc. Kenyon wasn't much better, hitting 5-of-18 from downtown, but it did shoot 85.0 percent at the charity stripe (17-of-20).

Sulzer led Wooster with her second double-double of the season (15 points, 11 rebounds), while Wingen (14 points) and Puripattarapan (10 points) also reached double-figures on the offensive end.

For Kenyon, Maureen Hirt dropped a game-high 28 points. The Ladies have now won eight games in a row.

Next, Wooster will host Denison University Saturday at 1 p.m.