Young Post Players Lead Scots to Nan Nichols Win

Mary Bell

WOOSTER, Ohio — Going into the 2003-04 season, The College of Wooster women’s basketball team was expected to lean heavily on its bevy of returning perimeter players. However, Wooster won its annual Nan Nichols Classic on Sunday afternoon, thanks to a pair of young post players in freshman Carly Loehrke (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Mattawan) and sophomore Michelle Hall (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Mt. Lebanon), who combined for 33 points and 21 rebounds in a 65-57 decision over Westminster (Pa.) College.

It marked the Scots’ first Nan Nichols title since the inaugural year of the four-team tournament (1996).

Wooster (2-0) was outscored 6-0 in the early going, but weathered the storm and came back with a 14-4 run. After a couple of lead changes, Loehrke asserted herself inside, getting free for three lay-ups during another run (16-4), in which the Scots eventually took a 36-22 advantage.

Wooster led 36-28 at the half.

The Lady Titans (1-1) had a few rallies in them during the second stanza. The closest they would get was 49-47 with just under 10 minutes to play. Then, Scot veteran guards Molly Rallo (Aurora, Ohio / Beaumont School) and Mary Bell (Cincinnati, Ohio / Wyoming) stepped up to help Wooster retake the momentum. Rallo hit a runner from the right side, Hall put in an offensive rebound, and Bell had a sequence with two-straight steals, and nearly a third, to keep Westminster off of the board.

The Scots were ahead by five or more points the rest of the way.

Loehrke took home tournament MVP honors after totaling 31 points and 16 rebounds in the two games, including 17 and nine, respectively, in the championship. Bell was selected as the defensive MVP after creating havoc in the Lady Titans’ backcourt and finishing with seven steals for the tourney, while Hall was picked for the all-tournament team after going for a double-double of 16 points and 12 caroms on Sunday.

Also noteworthy for Wooster, Rallo had seven points, four assists and just three turnovers in 38 minutes, and Natalie Barone (Akron, Ohio / St. Thomas Aquinas) added eight points, six assists, and two steals.

For Westminster, Erica Tallo led the way with 20 points on 10-of-15 field-goal shooting and nine boards. She was joined on the all-tourney team by teammate Alyson Gasper, who totaled 15 points, 10 assists, and 12 steals in the two games, but struggled against the Scots, committing nine turnovers.

Earlier, Thiel College defeated Manchester College in the consolation game 57-51. The stars of that one were post players Adrienne Mowry, who produced a 16-point, 17-rebound effort for the winners, and Manchester’s Erica Sewell, who contributed 20 points and 17 boards.

Wooster returns to action this weekend (Nov. 29-30), when it travels to Marietta College’s annual Turkeyshoot Tournament. The Scots will face Penn State Behrend in the first round on Saturday at 6 p.m.