Aki Shurelds

The College of Wooster women's basketball team strung together a strong second period, but could not overcome a slow start, dropping a 75-54 North Coast Athletic Conference road contest at archrival Wittenberg University on Saturday afternoon at the Pam Evans Smith Arena in Springfield, Ohio.

The two teams traded quick field goals at the game's onset with Wittenberg's (4-8, 3-2 NCAC) Becca Ziska scoring just 21 seconds into the contest, a field goal that was quickly answered by Wooster (5-9, 1-4 NCAC) junior Natalie Coschigano at the other end.

The Tigers opened up a 5-point edge at 8-3 with 6:37 remaining in the first period, and would later add an 8-0 run in the frame. Free throws played a key part of the opening segment as 12 of the combined 27 first-period points came at the charity stripe.

Wooster had a quick start to the second frame, with the Fighting Scots' youth leading the way. First-year Christina Vukovich scored three quick points, with fellow classmate Shar Hankerson adding an impressive jumper moments later, a shot that cut Wooster's deficit to nine at 22-13.

The Scots, twice cut their deficit to eight before the half. First junior Rachel Collins connected on a jumper, making the score 29-21 with 4:44 remaining in the half. Later, a jumper off the hand of senior Lauren Hancher made the score 33-25 with 1:39 left in the second period. The Tigers' Ali Miller pushed Wittenberg's lead back to 12 at 37-25 at the intermission with two straight jumpers.

Wittenberg utilized an 11-0 stretch in the third period to gain separation at 48-28. Of note, Wooster did heat up from outside in the frame, with a pair of 3-pointers from both first-year Anna Gibbs and sophomore Aki Shurelds.

Hancher heated up in the fourth period, scoring seven straight Wooster points over a two-minute stretch. For the game, the senior finished with a team-high 15 points.

Gibbs added 13 points in the contest, to join Hancher in double-figures, while the Scots also had a key contribution from Shurelds, who finished with nine points off of the bench.

Ziska paced Wittenberg with a game-high 19 points.

Next, Wooster returns home to take on Oberlin College (7-7, 1-4 NCAC) at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.