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| Carly Loehrke's third double-double of the season
wasn't enough to help the Scots get by Westminster in non-conference action. |
The College of Wooster committed a season-high 24 turnovers, which
Westminster College converted into 30 points to help it pull out
the non-league victory at Timken Gymnasium 60-56. The Fighting Scots
fall below .500 for the first time this season at 2-3, while Westminster
improves to 5-2 on the year.
Westminster jumped out to the 5-0 lead as its star player, senior
Erica Tallo, converted on a free throw and two layups in
the game's first two minutes. The Scots came back to tie it on 3-pointer
by senior Sara Perry (North Ridgeville, Ohio / North Ridgeville)
and a pair of free throws by sophomore Maria Gonzalez (Millersburg,
Ohio / West Holmes) at the 17:00 mark, but the Lady Titans went
on a 6-1 run to build their biggest lead of the first half at 11-6.
The Scots never wavered, bouncing back with an 8-0 run of their
own, capped off by back-to-back layups by junior Natalie Barone
(Akron, Ohio / St. Thomas Aquinas), and regained a three-point advantage
(14-11) with under twelve remaining. Wooster's defense held Westminster
without a field goal for nearly four minutes midway through the
half, while the offense came alive led by sophomore Carly Loehrke
(Kalamazoo, Mich. / Mattawan), building the lead to 23-15 with six
minutes left in the first stanza. Loehrke converted on two free
throws and a layup for four of her team-high seven first half points
during that stretch.
Down by eight (27-19) at the 3:06 mark, Westminster went on a 9-0
run to close the half as Emilee Ackerman accounted for seven
of those points on a 3-pointer, a layup, and a jumper with 16 seconds
remaining to give Westminster the 28-27 lead heading into the half.
The momentum the Lady Titans carried into the break continued at
the start of the second period as Westminster outscored Wooster
12-2 in the first five minutes, and built its biggest lead of the
day (40-29). The Scots didn't give up, chipping away at the lead
over the next 10 minutes and pulling to within two (52-50) when
Loehrke was fouled as she nailed the jumper. She converted the free
throw to cut the lead to one with 5:07 left on the clock .
The Lady Titans turned it over on their next possession as Gonzalez
came up with the steal and after a missed 3-point attempt by Loehrke,
Barone caromed the loose ball for one of her three second-half offensive
rebounds and dished it to junior Vicki Meyer (Geneseo, N.Y.
/ Geneseo) who nailed the open jumper to give Wooster its only lead
of the second half at 53-52.
The Scots' lead was short-lived, however, as Desiree Sterling
was fouled on the next Westminster possession, sending her to the
line where she was a perfect 5-for-5 up to that point. Sterling
nailed both of her attempts to put the Lady Titans back in front
54-53. Another Scot turnover translated into a jumper for Sterling
to put Westminster up by three with under 3:00 to go, but Barone
was fouled on the next Wooster possession and sent to the free throw
line where she made good both her attempts, pulling the Scots within
one (56-55).
Wooster missed each of its last five shots down the stretch, while
Alyson Gasper converted on four free throws to put Westminster
up by two possessions (60-55) with 16 seconds to go. Gonzalez grabbed
the offensive rebound off a missed 3-point attempt and was fouled
on the Scots' last possession with just 2 seconds remaining. She
made her first free throw, but the second was off its mark and Tallo
grabbed the lose ball to end the game.
Loehrke picked up her third double-double this season by netting
team-highs of 14 points and 14 rebounds, while also blocking five
shots. Barone added 13 points, four assists, and three steals before
fouling out late in the game, while Gonzalez tallied nine points
and three steals. Junior Michelle Hall (Pittsburgh, Pa. /
Mt. Lebanon) caromed eight rebounds for the Scots.
Westminster was paced by a trio of double-figure scorers, led by
Tallo with 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting. Ackerman added 16 points
on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, including nailing both her attempts
from deep, while Sterling tallied 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting and
a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. Gasper grabbed a team-high
12 rebounds in addition to eight points and five assists.
Wooster ends their home-stand for the first half of the season
and will hit the road on Wednesday, Dec. 8, for a non-league affair
at Grove City College. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. |
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