Scots Fall to No. 1 DePauw in Offensive Showdown

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster made things interesting, especially early on, but No. 1 ranked DePauw University pulled away behind a .530 shooting percentage and 12 3-pointers to drop the Fighting Scots 98-68, in an offensive showdown between North Coast Athletic Conference teams Saturday afternoon at Timken Gymnasium.

The Scots (5-2, 0-1 NCAC) gave a strong effort in defeat, as their 68 points were the most allowed by the Tigers (7-0, 1-0 NCAC) in 70 games.

Wooster came out firing to start the first half, as it pulled ahead 9-2 just 2:31 into the action, fueled by seven points from Karley Walker. The Tigers went on their own mini-run to knot the score at nine apiece, but the Scots got back on top by four at 13-9, thanks to baskets in the paint from Lauren Hancher and Maura Hall, both assisted by Walker.

Both squads traded buckets over the next four-plus minutes, with a Rachel Huxhold jumper tying the score at 15-15, and a lay-up from Sydney Failing putting Wooster in front by two (17-15) at the halves' midway point.

Unfortunately, Walker and Hancher got into some early foul trouble, and the Tigers took advantage, as they proceeded to reel off an 11-0 scoring run to go ahead by nine (26-17). Hall broke up the streak with a hoop in the paint to cut the deficit to seven (26-19), and after a DePauw 3-pointer, Suvi Puripattarapan made it an eight-point game (29-21) by turning a steal into a fast-break lay-up.

Depauw steadily pulled away during the last five minutes of the first half, though, as it took a 19-point lead (51-32), its largest of the half, into the locker room.

Coming out of the break, Hall scored six of her team-high 17 points less than two minutes into the half, with her lay-up at 18:01 bringing the Scots within 15 (53-38), but that was as close as Wooster got, as Depauw continued to shoot well, including 20 second-half points off the bench, on its way to its 98-68 victory.

The high-scoring setback was yet another sign that Wooster is headed in the right direction, as it had averaged just 38.5 points in its last four meetings with DePauw.

Hall was just one rebound shy of a double-double, with 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field and nine boards. Walker was next in line offensively, with 14 points and five assists, while Huxhold added a season-high nine points to go along with four assists and three rebounds.

Also noteworthy, Puripattarapan totaled three steals, three assists, and five points, while Hancher chipped in eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, despite being limited to just 12 minutes due to foul trouble.

DePauw's Ali Ross was lights out from the field (9-of-13) on her way to a game-high 22 points, while Emma Ondik recorded 18 tallies, including five 3-pointers.

Next, Wooster will travel south to Texas for a two-game swing in the Lone Star State, beginning with a tilt at Schreiner University (3-3) on Dec. 18.