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The College of Wooster

Scots Done in by Slow Start at Denison

Wooster competitive in second half, but falls 74-39

Scots Done in by Slow Start at Denison
Box Score
January 3, 2015

Denison University, last year's runner-up in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, has been a challenging opponent for The College of Wooster in recent years, and the Big Red kept their winning streak alive against the Fighting Scots, 74-39, on Saturday afternoon in both team's first game of the new year at Granville, Ohio.

Wooster's (1-11, 0-3 NCAC) recent stretch of subpar shooting from behind the arc continued today, as it made just one 3-pointer compared to 10 for the Big Red (7-6, 3-1 NCAC). In the first nine games of the season, the Scots averaged seven 3-pointers per game, but over their last three games, they have made just 10 baskets from downtown (3.3 per game) – which have also been their three lowest-scoring games of the season.

After falling behind in the first half, Wooster settled in and played much better after the break, as it trailed Denison by just three (30-27) second-half points. The Scots took care of the ball in the second stanza, only turning it over six times, and received points from eight different players, including eight of Lauren Hancher's team-high 12 tallies.

Most notably, Wooster strung together an impressive 12-0 scoring run late in the contest, which began with a pair of free throws from Rachel Huxhold, ended with a 3-pointer from Aki Shurelds, and had offensive contributions from Hancher, Danielle Besancon, and Katherine Mandych in between.

Denison didn't shoot exceptionally well from the field at 34.2 percent (26-for-76), but it outrebounded Wooster 60-34 and scored 20 second-chance points.

Hancher led the Scots with 12 points, seven rebounds, and two blocked shots, while Huxhold (8 points, 2 steals), and Paige Fabry (5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) also had solid efforts in the setback. Denison was paced by Kellie Arter's 17 points, which included five 3-pointers.

With its five-game road swing behind it, Wooster will return home for two games this week, starting with a match-up with Ohio Wesleyan University (6-6, 2-1 NCAC) on Wednesday at 6 p.m.