Masani Francis

GAMBIER, Ohio – The season opener did not go the way The College of Wooster women's basketball team would have liked as they suffered a 87-66 defeat to Kenyon College in North Coast Athletic Conference play on Wednesday.

Kenyon shot the ball exceptionally well at 45 percent (30-for-67) including going 50 percent (13-for-26) from 3-point range. Their 13 3-pointers tied for fourth all-time in a single game in school history.

Kenyon also held the advantage on the boards at 51-37 and with second chance points at 18-13. Retrospectively, Wooster shot 34 percent (23-for-68) from the floor and shot 39 percent (9-for-23) from deep.

Kenyon had three players score in double figures as Jessica Gerber scored a game-high 19 points. Paige Matijasich scored 18 and Ellie Schaub scored 16.

Wooster also had three players in double figures. Kylie Orr led the team with 13 points off the bench thanks to a 3-for-6 clip from beyond the arc. Maria Janasko scored 12 and tied for a team-high five rebounds, and Kyle Croxton scored 11 points.

Kenyon led 25-17 after the first quarter thanks to a 13-point start from Schaub who went 5-for-5 from the floor and 3-for-3 at the line. When the Ladies boosted their lead to 34-22 in the second quarter they were already 5-for-11 from 3-point range.

Kenyon held a 47-31 lead at halftime and were already outrebounding the Scots by 11.

Orr had a couple nice plays in the third quarter including a spin down the lane that resulted in an assist under the basket to Aubri McKoy. Orr later hit an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 72-50 after three quarters.

All five first-years for Wooster debuted, and they got to play together for the final four minutes.

Masani Francis, London Foster, Jenna Stanton, Abby Johnson and A'Janay Nicholson closed the game out. Francis was a highlight, scoring nine points in the limited action she saw. Nicholson recorded her first points as well, ending with three points and five rebounds.

This was both teams' season opener. Wooster will return to action this weekend when they host the 2018 Nan Nichols Classic and will play Finlandia University at 3 p.m. Saturday.