Bench Scoring Propels Wooster to 73-68 Win Over Alma in Nan Nichols Classic

WOOSTER, Ohio – Thirty combined points from reserves Kyle Croxton and Kylie Orr resurrected the Fighting Scots from a slow start as The College of Wooster women's basketball team took down Alma College 73-68 in the second of two Saturday games at the Nan Nichols Classic.

On the day, Wooster's bench outscored Alma's 37-15, fueled by Croxton's 18 and Orr's 12. Both players finished 4-for-7 from three-point range.

Wooster (2-0) found themselves down 9-0 after the opening 3:10. Junior Anna Gibbs broke the drought with a layup before connecting from deep to bring the Scots back within six (5-11) midway through the first period.

Overall, the Scots weathered their slow start to finish the opening stanza on a 14-7 run.

In the second period, Wooster limited Alma to 26.3 percent shooting while outscoring the Scots from Michigan 16-13 to take a 32-31 lead into the halftime break.

Similar to Wooster's season opener, a big third quarter highlighted the Scots' second-half effort.

As part of a 23-11 scoring advantage, Orr led Wooster with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep. Along with a three-pointer from senior Aki Shurelds, the Scots shot 57.1 percent from beyond the arc in the third.

The dagger occurred midway through the period, with Orr connecting on three consecutive three-point attempts before Croxton finished on a breakaway steal to extend an 11-4 Wooster run. In fact, a free throw from sophomore Erica Roberts and two more from first-year Sarah Rapacz eventually capped the run at 14-4.

Alma (0-1) bounced back in the fourth period, posting a game-high 26 points in the final 10 minutes.

On the day, Rapacz and first-year Maria Janasko led Wooster with six rebounds while Gibbs posted a team-high four assists. Of note, five of Rapacz's six came on the offensive end.

For Alma, Jeny Brandt pulled down 12 rebounds to go along with nine points and six blocks.

Up next, Wooster concludes the Classic against Baldwin Wallace University (2-0), who defeated Hanover University (1-1) 78-68 in the day's opener at Timken Gymnasium.