Scots Fall to Nationally-Ranked Tigers Despite Strong Start

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster came out strong and even held a lead over No. 10 ranked DePauw University midway through the first half, but the Tigers stormed into the break on a game-changing scoring run, which it used to sink the Fighting Scots, 72-38, in a North Coast Athletic Conference match-up Saturday afternoon at Timken Gymnasium.

The Scots (1-17, 0-9 NCAC) gave the nationally-ranked Tigers (16-1, 9-0 NCAC) everything they had, especially early in the contest, when the lead was changing hands on nearly every possession.

Rachel Collins opened the game with a 3-pointer to give Wooster a 3-0 lead, but minutes later, DePauw was ahead 8-4. Next, Lindy Howard drained a basket from behind the arc, her first field goal of the season, to draw the Scots within one (8-7), and then Howard came up with a steal which led to a Paige Fabry lay-up that put Wooster up 9-8.

Down 10-9, Aki Shurelds pulled down an offensive rebound and put it back up for two (11-10), and on Wooster's next possession, Lauren Hancher knocked down a jumper which gave her team a three-point lead (13-10) with 10:24 to go in the first half.

DePauw responded to cut its deficit to one at 13-12, and the score remained that way over the next 2:02, as Wooster forced the Tigers into two turnovers and a missed field goal during that stretch.

Finally, DePauw hit a 3-pointer to regain the lead (15-13), and then over the next 8:02, the Tigers strung together a 20-1 scoring run, including 11 points from Emma Ondik, which gave them a 30-14 advantage heading into the locker room.

Wooster used the 3-ball to claw back into the game early in the second half, as Rachel Huxhold sunk a pair of 3's and Sydney Grier added another as part of a 13-7 run which pulled the Scots within 11 at 38-27. That was as close as Wooster could get to making it a single-digit game, as the Tigers steadily pulled away behind 55.2 percent (16-of-29) second-half shooting to notch their 13th straight victory.

Collins and Huxhold tied for the team-lead with eight points apiece, both making two 3-pointers on the day, while Hancher chipped in six points and five rebounds. Fabry's eight rebounds were a career-high.

Ondik paced DePauw with 14 points, highlighted by 4-of-8 shooting from downtown.

The Scots will visit Hiram College (4-14, 0-9 NCAC) next Wednesday at 6 p.m.