Scots Fall to Tartans To Open Holiday Tournament

Columbus, Ohio – The College of Wooster women's basketball team opened the 2018 Marriott Columbus Airport Holiday Tournament hosted by Capital University with a 79-63 loss to Carnegie Mellon University on Friday.

Sophomore Maria Janasko led the Scots with a team-high 15 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double.

In their first game since Dec. 19, the Scots showed little rust to begin the game with a quick 6-0 start. Sarah Rapacz scored on back-to-back layups and Aubri McKoy hit two free throws.

Maria Janasko
Maria Janasko

Wooster held Carnegie Mellon without a field goal for the first 5:28, but the Tartans' first was a 3-pointer that cut the Wooster lead to one.

The Tartans then took their first lead with 2:47 left and expanded it to 19-14 at the end of the first quarter.

Wooster got to within one midway through the second quarter at 26-25 following a pair of free throws from Kylie Orr. They stayed close up until halftime, facing a 33-30 deficit.

The Scots started the second half the same way they started the game with another 6-0 run. Anna Gibbs scored on a layup, and McKoy tied it with a free throw.  With 8:20 to go in the quarter, Kyle Croxton drained a 3-pointer to put the Scots ahead.

However, Carnegie Mellon answered right back with a 3-pointer of their own on their next possession. That began a game defining 22-3 run for Carnegie Mellon.

McKoy hit a 3-pointer near the buzzer to soften the blow a bit, but the Tartans led 59-44 at the end of three quarters.

In the fourth, another strong start to a quarter brought Wooster to within seven with 7:16 remaining. Yet, Carnegie Mellon pulled away once more leading by as many as 20 with two minutes left in the game.

McKoy finished with 12 points and six rebounds, and Croxton finished with eight points. Jenna Stanton, Gibbs and Orr finished with six each.

Carnegie Mellon's Caitlyn Clendenin led all scorers with 20 points.

Wooster shot 26 percent (19-for-74) from the floor, 24 percent (4-for-17) from deep and 70 percent (21-for-30) at the foul line.

Carnegie Mellon shot 41 percent (22-for-54) from the floor, 38 percent (6-for-16) from range and 81 percent (29-for-36) from the charity stripe.

Wooster outrebounded the Tartans 49-40 and outscored them 26-9 in second chance points and 30-22 in the paint.

Carnegie Mellon improved to 9-1, while Wooster fell to 4-7 on the season. Wooster will play again at 1 p.m. Saturday when they will take on either Fredonia State University or Capital.