Last-Second Shot Lifts Notre Dame (Ohio) Over Wooster 70-68

Maria Gonzalez

WOOSTER, Ohio - The College of Wooster women’s basketball team held a 68-64 lead heading into the final minute of its bout with Notre Dame (Ohio) College in the consolation game of the Nan Nichols Classic, but the Falcons scored six unanswered points down the stretch, including the game-winning basket with just one-half second on the clock, to pull out the 70-68 victory Sunday afternoon in Timken Gymnasium.

Alma College took home the tournament title with a 94-74 victory over Seton Hill University in the finals. Alma shot a blistering 58.5 percent from the field (31-of-53) and converted 30-of-40 free throws to post the second-highest scoring effort in the 10-year history of the Nan Nichols Class, topped only by Mt. Union College’s 95-50 victory over Thomas More College in 1997.

The first contest went right down to the wire as each team battled back and forth in the final period, with the Fighting Scots bouncing back from a three-point deficit (59-62) at 5:28 to tie the game (62-62) on a pair of free throws by Kassandra Dobson (Bellflower, Calif. / Millikan). Junior Beth Besancon (Wooster, Ohio / Smithville) then connected on her third 3-point shot of the afternoon to give Wooster the edge (65-62) with just under 3:30 remaining.

After a Notre Dame bucket made it 65-64, freshman Sarah Merkel (Evansville, Ind. / Reitz Memorial) was fouled as she converted a layup. She nailed the shot from the charity stripe to put the Scots up four (68-64) with two minutes left.

Each of Wooster’s next four possessions, however, resulted in turnovers, while the Falcons converted a pair of free throws and a layup to knot things at 68. With seconds remaining on the clock, Kristi Wendolowski threw up a shot from beyond the arc trying to win the game for Notre Dame. The ball was off its mark, but the carom went right to Tamika Watkins who dished it out to Sarah Dia with just a second remaining. Dia swished the jumper from the right wing with 0.5 on the clock and Wooster was unable to do anything with the time remaining.

The Falcons opened the game with a 7-0 run and went up by as many as 15 (10-25) in the first stanza, but Wooster slowly chipped away at the lead and cut it to single digits by the half (37-45). A 15-6 run to start the second period gave the Scots its first lead of the day (52-51), which they extended to as many as five (58-53) with 7:57 to play. Notre Dame, though, never went away and was able to keep it within a bucket heading into the final stretch.

Junior Maria Gonzalez (Millersburg, Ohio / West Holmes) led Wooster with 14 points and three steals, while all-tournament selection Carly Loehrke (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Mattawan) and Besancon were also in double digits with 10 apiece. Merkel was impressive on the glass in just her second collegiate game, grabbing 11 caroms, five on the offensive end, to go with eight points.

Dia led Notre Dame with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting to earn all-tourney honors, while Wendolowski and Watkins chipped in with 11 and 10, respectively. Watkins led the way with nine rebounds as the Falcons won the battle on the boards 45-40.

The championship played out similarly to the consolation game early on as Seton Hill jumped out to an 11-point lead (7-18) seven minutes in. But Alma went on a 14-0 run to get back in the game and jumped out to a 40-37 lead by the end of the half.

After converting 13-of-25 shots in the first half (52.0), Alma shot 64.3 percent from the field (18-of-28) in the second stanza, as well as converting 18-of-24 free throws. The Griffins managed to cut the lead to three (42-39) just a minute into the final frame, but an 11-2 run put Alma up by double figures (53-41) with 15:00 to go. Alma never looked back, extending the lead to as many as 23 (92-69) down the final stretch.

Darcie Philp earned the Most Outstanding Player award after posting a double-double with 28 points and 12 rebounds. The 28 points was the second-highest in tournament history and she set a new standard with 12 made free throws. Additionally, Katey Peacock and Erica Philp earned all-tournament honors for their efforts on the weekend. Peacock recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds and was named the Defensive Most Valuable Player, while Erica Philp tallied 19 points and five assists. Ashley Matuzak was also in double-figures with 11 points, as well as grabbing eight caroms and blocking three shots.

Seton Hill was led by all-tourney selections Denishia Salter and Autumn Himes. Salter totaled 18 points, eight assists, and five points on the day, while Himes contributed a dozen tallies and seven rebounds.