Katelyn Dymek

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster women's basketball team built a 19-point lead in the first half and then used that cushion to hold off North Coast Athletic Conference foe Hiram College down the stretch in a 61-54 victory Saturday afternoon at Timken Gymnasium.

The Scots (3-2, 1-1 NCAC) began to pull away in the early goings, thanks in large part to Jessica Wingen, who scored 11 of her 13 first half points just 8:39 into the action. Wingen gave Wooster its first double-digit lead with an old-fashioned three-point play that made it 17-5, and later Suvi Puripattarapan dropped in a lay-up that gave the Scots a commanding 29-10 advantage.

Hiram (3-3, 0-1 NCAC) made it a 14-point game at halftime, but Karley Walker drained a 3-pointer coming out of the break that pushed the Scot lead to 17 (35-18). It was at that juncture that the Terriers began to slowly close the gap on the scoreboard, and eventually, a Marisa Thomas 3-pointer drew them within nine (46-37) at the midway point of the second half.

Walker hit her second 3-ball of the contest shortly after to increase the cushion to 13 (51-38), but Hiram followed with an 8-2 scoring to narrow the gap to just seven (53-46). The Terriers did not get any closer than that, though, as the Scots made some late free throws, including two from Katelyn Dymek with 28 seconds on the clock, to help close out the seven-point win.

Walker was one point shy of tying her career-high, as she scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and added five assists and four rebounds. Also standing out on the stat sheet was Wingen, who recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Wingen also blocked two shots.

Also noteworthy, newcomer Dymek just missed a double-double of her own with 10 points and nine boards in just 20 minutes off the bench.

Hiram's Christy Griffin tied Walker for game-high honors with 17 points.

The Scots have now matched their win total from last season in just five games, and will look to keep up their improved play when they host Case Western Reserve University next Saturday at 4 p.m.