Wooster Aims to Snap Three-Game Skid This Week

Kym Wenz

The College of Wooster has a pair of North Coast Athletic Conference tilts on tap this week, as it looks to move up the NCAC standings and stop a three-game slide. On Wednesday, Jan. 16, Wooster, currently sixth in the league, plays host to third-place Denison University (7-6, 3-1 NCAC) in a rematch of a contest that took place just 12 days prior. The Fighting Scots will be seeking revenge, as the Big Red were clicking on all cylinders early and coasted to an 82-56 decision in their previous meeting. Opening tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. This Saturday, Jan. 19, Wooster will travel to seventh-place Hiram College (3-10, 1-4 NCAC) for the squads’ first match-up of the season. Historically, the Scots are 18-3 against the Terriers, including last year’s sweep when Wooster prevailed 72-64 at home and 73-60 on the road. Saturday’s starting time is at 2 p.m.

Last Week: Wooster played just once last week, losing a road game to one of the conference’s co-leaders, which now puts the Scots at 4-8 overall and 1-3 in the NCAC.

On Jan. 9, Wooster was ahead by as much as 36-28 in the early stages of the second half during its match-up at Kenyon College, but the host Ladies stormed back to control much of the remainder of the action, eventually securing a 62-49 decision in Gambier, Ohio. Down 40-34, Kenyon mounted a 19-2 run over a seven-minute stretch for a double-digit lead (53-42). The Scots, who had led 29-26 at halftime, pulled back within seven (55-48) at the 3:30 mark only to see the Ladies respond with the next four points to seal the game. Individually, Kaitlin Krister (Kent, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit) paced Wooster with 15 points, eight rebounds, two blocked shots, and two steals, all despite missing a portion of the second half due to injury. She was complemented by Kym Wenz’s (Avon Lake, Ohio / Avon Lake) 12-point night, as well as 10 markers in the scorebook via Meredith Wilson (Washington Ct. House, Ohio / Miami Trace).

This and That: Having reached the midway point of 2007-08, sophomore guard Kym Wenz (Avon Lake, Ohio / Avon Lake) is on pace to have the fourth-highest scoring season in team history with her average of 17.4 points. She’s making 54.8 percent of her 3-pointers (23-for-42), which would break a conference record, currently held by Wittenberg University’s Amber Sherman (.467; 42-for-90) ... As a team, the Scots are making 38.1 percent from 3-point range (82-for-215), which is well ahead of their school record (.310; 1989-90) and just shy of the conference record (.395 by Wittenberg’s 1995-96 team) ... Kaitlin Krister (Kent, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit) could end up in the Wooster annals for field-goal percentage and blocked shots with a similar second-half of the season. Her current rate of .551 from the field is third-best in team history and she’s on pace for 52 blocks, which would tie her for fourth-place on that list.