Two Fellow Northeast Ohio Foes On Tap, Including NCAC Opener

Priscilla Staples

After a rare weekend off, The College of Wooster has two games scheduled for this week, highlighted by its North Coast Athletic Conference opener for 2007-08. Wooster, picked to finish in sixth-place in the preseason polls, will host Oberlin College (1-3, 0-0 NCAC) on Wednesday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m. It will mark the Fighting Scots’ fifth-straight home game to open the year. Wooster holds a commanding lead in the teams’ all-time series, having won 42 of 54 meetings (42-12), including a season sweep last year (66-63 at Wooster and 61-51 at Oberlin). Additionally, the Scots will be at former NCAC member Case Western Reserve University (4-3) on Saturday, Dec. 8, starting at 2 p.m. The northeast Ohio foes have played numerous times, with the Spartans now ahead 25-13 all-time following last season’s 71-59 triumph. The last time Wooster defeated Case was Dec. 2, 1998 – a stretch of five games.

Last Week: Wooster dropped its lone game, slipping to 1-3 on the young season.

On Nov. 28, undefeated Westminster (Pa.) College used some clutch free throw shooting to topple the Scots 64-54, as the visiting Titans converted 20-of-23 from the charity stripe for the game. Westminster emerged with a 28-27 halftime lead and the two teams traded the lead back-and-forth for much of the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Tied 46-46, the Titans rattled off a mini 6-0 run, with all of those points coming on free throws, and the closest Wooster ever got again was four (50-46). Sophomore post Kaitlin Krister (Kent, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit) paced the Scots with an all-around performance, scoring 18 points, grabbing eight rebounds, blocking three shots, and producing three steals, all of which were team-highs. Classmate Kym Wenz (Avon Lake, Ohio / Avon Lake) managed 15 points from her guard position, in spite of an off-night shooting the ball (5-of-16 field goals), while Priscilla Staples (Stoughton, Mass. / Fontbonne Academy), another sophomore guard, was steady at the point, passing out five assists for the second time this year.