Scots Can’t Overcome First-Half Struggles in Setback to Texas Lutheran

The College of Wooster allowed a sizeable scoring run to Texas Lutheran University heading into the halftime break, which proved to be too much to overcome, as despite a closely-contested second half, the Fighting Scots were upended by the Bulldogs on Friday afternoon, 93-56, at Seguin, Texas.

The Scots (5-4) went ahead 10-5 in the early goings, which included five points and two assists from Karley Walker, but the Bulldogs (4-3) tied the game up at 11-11, which started a back-and-forth exchange between both teams.

With Texas Lutheran ahead 15-12, Sydney Failing knocked down a jumper to pull Wooster within one (15-14), and then moments later, with the Bulldogs leading 21-14, Suvi Puripattarapan drained a 3-pointer that made it a four-point game at 21-17.

The Bulldogs then began to pull away bit, but Lauren Hancher scored three baskets during a 1:47-spurt that kept Wooster within 11 at 34-23. It was at that juncture that Texas Lutheran started gaining steam, as it closed out the stanza with a 22-2 scoring in just over six minutes, to take a 56-25 advantage into the locker room.

The Scots showed improvement in the second half, as they were outscored by just two points over the final 16:31 of play. They got a boost at the free-throw line, where they went 13-for-15 (86.7 percent) in the second half, after an uncharacteristic 7-for-17 (41.2 percent) effort in the first half. Wooster also got scoring contributions from five players off the bench in the second half, including a season-high six points from Paige Fabry.

Overall, Walker recorded a full stat line of 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, while Hancher led the team in scoring for the second time during Wooster's southern swing, this time with 14 points.

Wooster will look to get back into the win column when it visits Oberlin College (5-4, 0-1 NCAC) in North Coast Athletic Conference action on Jan. 3 at 7:30 p.m.