Wooster Comeback Bid Falls Just Short in 79-74 Loss to Adrian

WOOSTER, Ohio – Behind a second-half explosion from junior Lauren Hancher, The College of Wooster women's basketball team nearly erased a 13-point deficit, as it pulled within two with under a minute remaining in regulation, but Adrian College hung on to win a game it never trailed, 79-74, at the Nan Nichols Classic on Saturday at Timken Gymnasium.

The Fighting Scots (0-1) couldn't get going offensively in the first half, as the team shot just 29.6 percent (8-for-27) from the field, with Hancher chipping in only two points, partly due to foul trouble. But Wooster got into a rhythm down the stretch, including a game-changing sequence late in the second stanza that almost resulted in an unlikely comeback.

Down 13 midway through the second half, the Scots chipped away and pulled within six (57-51), only to see Adrian build its cushion back to 11 (67-56) with 5:39 to go. That's when Wooster made its move, as it scored nine unanswered points to make it a two-point game.

First, Hancher got to the free throw line and sunk a pair, and shortly after she drove to the basket for a lay-in that cut Adrian's lead to seven (67-60). About a minute later, Sydney Failing rebounded her own miss and went back up strong, drawing a foul and making both free throws to cut it to 67-62. Finally, Sydney Grier capped off the scoring run by draining a 3-pointer from the right wing to make it a one possession game (67-65) with 2:30 left to play.

That was as close as Wooster got to taking the lead, as Adrian increased its advantage to five (77-72) with 0:16 seconds to go, although Hancher's deep basket from just inside the three-point arc made it 77-74, before the visitors closed out a victory with some game-clinching free throws.

The Scots were down 13 (26-13) in the first half as well, but used a 10-0 scoring run, which also included a Grier 3-pointer, to get as close as 26-23. Wooster eventually went into the break trailing 35-30.

Overall, Hancher bounced back from a slow start to score 22 points in the second half, on her way to 24-point outing on 8-of-14 shooting and 8-of-10 from the line. She also chipped in three rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal in a well-rounded effort.

Failing, a sophomore, had a big game as well, with career-highs in points (19) and rebounds (12), marking her first-ever double-double. Last year's free throw leader (84.0 percent) was also a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe, and added three blocked shots.

Also noteworthy, Grier had 10 points and six boards, Rachel Huxhold scored eight tallies, and newcomer Hannah Kiser totaled six points and five rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench.

The Bulldogs were paced by Marissa Cotton and her game-high 25 points, while Jasmyne Owens notched a double-double with 14 and 13.

In the Nan Nichols opener, John Carroll University overcame Kalamazoo College's 12 blocked shots to win in a nailbiter, 58-57.

Tomorrow, John Carroll will play Adrian at 1 p.m., and Wooster will host Kalamazoo at 3 p.m.