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| Michelle Hall |
The College of Wooster women's basketball team nearly won its second
tournament in as many weeks, but could not hang on to a three-point lead with
2:28 to play on Sunday (Nov. 30) and succumbed to host Marietta College 72-69
in the championship game of the 19th annual Hotel Lafayette Turkey Shoot.
Wooster defeated Penn State Behrend 62-52
late Saturday night.
On Sunday, the Scots (3-1) led the majority of the second half, including
69-66 after a layup by Natalie Barone (Akron, Ohio / St. Thomas Aquinas).
However, Marietta (3-1) made the big plays down the stretch. On the
ensuing possession, Katie Moriarty controlled an offensive rebound, was
fouled, and made both free throws to make it a one-point game again. Then,
the Pioneers' defense stepped up with a blocked shot, and on the other
end, they took the lead on a jumper by tournament MVP Hannah Heinzman,
who finished with 16 points in the title game.
With 1:30 still remaining, Wooster had plenty of chances, but could
not convert. In fact, the Scots had four shots in the paint during the
final stretch, including three during one nine-second time period.
After being forced to foul and watching Moriarty sink two more from
the charity stripe, Wooster attempted to send the contest to overtime,
but came up short on a three-pointer with two seconds left.
The Scots were ahead much of the first half as well, after an early
8-0 run put them ahead 10-6. However, Marietta never let the lead get to
be more than four, and the two went into halftime knotted at 34.
Early in the second, Wooster produced the biggest run of the game,
turning a 45-42 Pioneer lead into a 64-56 advantage for the Scots with
7:28 remaining. Wooster only scored five points the rest of the way.
Four Scots finished in double figures, led by Lindsey Schaaff (Loveland,
Ohio / Mt. Notre Dame) and Michelle Hall (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Mt. Lebanon),
both of whom picked up all-tournament recognition. Schaaff scored 17 points,
including 13 in the first half and 3-of-7 three-point shooting for the
game, while Hall contributed 10 points after a team-high 14 in Saturday's
first-round win.
Also, freshman forwards Lindsey Easthon (Chardon, Ohio / Chardon)
and Carly Loehrke (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Mattawan) ended up with 10 points
apiece in the championship-game setback. Loehrke added a game-high nine
rebounds.
For Marietta, Beth Bakos and Amanda Baum joined Heinzman with all-tourney
honors. Bakos tallied 16 markers against Wooster.
On Saturday, the Scots went on a 17-7 run midway through the opening
half to take a 27-20 lead over Penn State Behrend and never looked back
en route to the 10-point victory. Wooster was ahead 29-23 at the break
and expanded it to a 14-point margin (40-26) early in the second stanza.
Complementing Hall's double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds in
that one was fellow western Pennsylvania native Jen Flavin (Pittsburgh,
Pa. / Seton-LaSalle), who had 13 points.
Leading the Lions were Tenesha Aden and Brittany Mays with 17 and
11 points, respectively.
After four non-league games, the Scots
will get right into North Coast Athletic Conference action on Wednesday
night (Dec. 3) with a trip to Allegheny College (1-3). |
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