Anna Gibbs

Stingy third-period defense and solid shooting led the Case Western Reserve University Spartans to an 86-54 victory over The College of Wooster women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon at Horsburgh Gymnasium in Cleveland, Ohio.

In their first road game of the season, the Fighting Scots (2-4, 0-1 North Coast Athletic Conference) jumped out to a 5-0 lead behind a fast-break layup from junior Anna Gibbs before the guard sunk a three-pointer off the steal from sophomore Akwia Tilton.

After conceding the lead, the Scots squared it up at 9-9 midway through the first with Gibbs' seventh point of the game. The Gahanna, Ohio native totaled a co-game-high 19 points on 8-for-15 shooting.

A 9-2 run put the Spartans (3-3) up 18-11 before sophomore Courtney Lockhart hit from mid-range to cut the deficit to five after 10 minutes of play.

Propelled by a 9-for-12 showcase at the foul line, Case Western Reserve outscored Wooster 26-17 in the second period to take a 44-30 lead at the halftime break.

The Spartans' Emily Todd and Kendall McConico tallied seven points in the period while Wooster first-year Sarah Rapacz pulled down three rebounds, including two on the offensive end, to go along with one block.

In the third period, Case held Wooster to 26.3 percent shooting compared to their own 42 percent clip. The Spartans went 4-for-11 from deep in the period, led Todd's 2-for-4 showing.

First-year Austrella Balley and Gibbs combined for eight points in the final period, as Wooster tallied three steals and five offensive rebounds to close out the game.

Up next, Wooster travels to Hiram College (2-6) on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.