Scots On the Road For Final Week of Regular Season

Meredith Wilson

The College of Wooster comes into the final week of the regular season in a battle for a spot in the eight-team North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. The Fighting Scots are currently tied for seventh in the league standings with Hiram College (5-17, 3-11 NCAC), one game back of Oberlin College (5-18, 4-10 NCAC) and one ahead of Earlham College (3-20, 2-12 NCAC), so a number of scenarios could still play out. First, on Wednesday, Feb. 20, Wooster will look to even the season series against fifth-place Allegheny College (9-14, 6-8 NCAC) when it travels to Meadville, Pa., for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. Back on Jan. 30, Allegheny broke out for a 17-5 run to start the second half and upended the host Scots 65-48. This Saturday, Feb. 23, Wooster will be at Earlham in Richmond, Ind., where the starting time is scheduled for 3 p.m. or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Earlham-Wooster men’s game. The Quakers and Scots needed overtime to decide their first meeting of the year (Jan. 26), with Wooster eventually prevailing 57-54 for its seventh consecutive win against an Earlham squad.

Last Week: The Scots lost two games, slipping to 6-17 overall and 3-11 in the NCAC.

On Feb. 13, Hiram College closed on a 12-3 run to upend host Wooster 69-62, earning a split in the season series. The Terriers led 29-26 at halftime and were up by double-digits for parts of the second half, including 53-41 just past the midway point. Then, the Scots made their move, putting together an 18-4 stretch, which saw them consistently earn trips to the free throw line (7-for-8) as well as get the ball inside to Kaitlin Krister (Kent, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit) for six points, her last two giving Wooster the lead (59-57). Hiram tied it right back up on the ensuing possession, though, and added six more unanswered (65-59) before the Scots could crack the scoreboard again. Meredith Wilson (Washington Ct. House, Ohio / Miami Trace) made a free throw to pull Wooster within five (65-60) with just under 1:00 to go, but the Terriers connected on 4-of-5 from the foul line down the stretch to seal it. The loss overshadowed big games by Krister, who posted a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Wilson, who had 17 markers in the scorebook.

On Feb. 16, Wilson broke the Scots’ single-season school record for 3-pointers made, however, that was one of few bright spots for Wooster during an 82-52 setback to Wittenberg University. The rival Tigers were red-hot early on, scoring the game’s first 11 points, and they held the Scots to just one field goal over the first 16 minutes. The score was 40-7 before Kelly Aughenbaugh (Wooster, Ohio / Wooster) canned a 3-pointer for Wooster’s second field goal. The Scots played Wittenberg fairly even for much of the rest of the game, as it was 48-15 at halftime and the margin stayed between 28-to-36 for the entire second half. Wilson’s pair of 3-pointers marked Nos. 53 and 54 on the season, surpassing the former team record held by Lindsey Schaaff (52; 2002-03). Additionally, Krister contributed 14 points.