Scots Continue on Road With NCAC Games at Allegheny, Earlham

Carly Loehrke

   After a rare seven-day midseason layoff, The College of Wooster women’s basketball team gets back into action on Wednesday, Jan. 24, for the second in a three-game road swing, all against North Coast Athletic Conference competition. The Fighting Scots will be in Meadville, Pa., Wednesday for their first match-up of the year with Allegheny College (12-4, 6-2 NCAC), with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m. The Gators are currently in sole possession of second-place in the NCAC standings and swept Wooster last season – 63-62 in Meadville and 70-52 in Wooster. Also this week, the Scots will be at seventh-place Earlham College (3-14, 2-6 NCAC) on Saturday, Jan. 27, for a 1 p.m. tilt. It will mark their second meeting of the year, as Wooster squeaked past the Quakers 56-54 in Timken Gymnasium back on Dec. 2 for its fifth-straight win over Earlham.

    Last Week: The Scots had a quiet week, dropping their lone contest to fall to 8-8 overall and 3-4 in NCAC play.
    On Jan. 17, Wooster rebounded from a nightmare first half, overcoming early deficits of 16-1 and 23-4 while shooting 16.7 percent from the field (4-for-24) in that period, only to lose to host Kenyon College by a 58-51 count. After Kenyon stretched its lead to 18 midway through the second half, the Scots caught fire, scoring 10 consecutive points, highlighted by 3-pointers by Annie Henley (Wooster, Ohio / Wooster) and Kym Wenz (Avon Lake, Ohio / Avon Lake) to pull within 42-34. The Ladies scored five of the next seven to extend their lead back to double figures, and later, hit a key 3-pointer with 2:19 left, which made it a 51-41 game. Wooster had one last rally, cutting the margin to as low as 57-51 via two Beth Besancon Sidle (Wooster, Ohio / Smithville) 3-pointers during the final minute, however, Kenyon made 4-of-6 free throws during that stretch to stave off the Scots. Leading Wooster was Wenz, who scored 11 of her team-high 13 points in the second half and also contributed four rebounds, three assists, and five steals. Maria Gonzalez (Millersburg, Ohio / West Holmes) produced 10 points, seven rebounds, and five steals.

    This and That: Wooster senior forward Carly Loehrke (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Mattawan) is quickly closing in on a milestone, as she needs just 20 points to move into second-place on the school’s all-time scoring list. Loehrke, who also ranks fourth in Scot history in rebounding (723), first in field-goal percentage (.540), fourth in free throw percentage (.777), and third in blocks (110), currently has 1,182 points and will likely surpass Lisa Diment (1,201 from 1983-87), but she will not be able to catch the career leader, Katie Montague (1,610 from 1996-99) ... In the most recent conference statistics, Carly Loehrke (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Mattawan) is fourth in scoring (13.3 ppg), tied for first in rebounding (7.9 rpg), first in field-goal percentage (.582), and third in blocked shots (1.81 bpg).