Wooster Derailed by Bluffton's Late First Half Scoring Run

The College of Wooster led for the majority of the first half, and was up by as much as six at one point, but Bluffton University stormed into the break on an explosive 22-0 scoring run, and then used that cushion to record a 22-point victory, 75-53, in a non-conference women's basketball match-up Saturday afternoon at Bluffton, Ohio.

Maura Hall led the Scots (2-1) to an early 7-2 lead, as she had a hand in all seven points, which came on a lay-up, an assist on a Karley Walker 3-pointer, and then another lay-up. The Beavers (3-0) drew within one at 13-12, but Suvi Puripattarapan put Wooster back up by three (15-12) with a jumper, and then a steal by Hall and a 3-pointer from Sydney Grier in transition pushed the advantage to six (18-12) about midway through the first half.

Bluffton rattled off a quick 7-0 run to take its first lead at 19-18, and pushed it to 21-18 before Jessica Wingen hit a pair of free throws to cut the Scots' deficit to just one (21-20).

It was at that juncture that Bluffton blitzed Wooster with 22 unanswered points over just 6:02 of action to build a 43-20 half time lead that it would not relinquish. The Scots went 0-for-6 from the field and turned the ball over seven times during that span.

Wooster could only close the gap to as little as 18 on two occasions, when Hall hit a rare 3-pointer to make it 43-25, and after Nisa Usman drained a jumper in the paint (55-37).

Hall came just one point shy of matching her career-high with 14 points, and added 10 rebounds to complete the double-double. Grier also reached double-figures with 10 points, easily the best performance of her young career, while Walker (9) and Wingen (8) rounded out the Scots' scoring leaders. Walker also tied a game-high with four assists.

The Beavers were paced by Rachel DeBord, who scored 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field.

The Scots will look to bounce back Wednesday when they kick off the North Coast Athletic Conference portion of their schedule with a home game against Allegheny College. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.