Scots Off the Mark in 75-64 Loss to Ursuline

Carly Loehrke

WOOSTER, Ohio. – The College of Wooster’s three-game winning streak came to a halt on Wednesday evening as Ursuline College handed the host Scots a 75-64 loss in non-conference women’s basketball action from Timken Gymnasium in Wooster, Ohio. The setback drops Wooster’s record to 3-3 on the year, while the Arrows improve to 3-7 overall.

The iron was unkind to the hosts as the Scots managed to connect on a season-low 31.0 percent of their shots from the field (22-of-71), including just 5-of-19 attempts from beyond the arc (26.3). Ursuline was slightly better at a rate of 40.3 from the field (25-of-62) and knocked home 6-of-17 trifectas (35.3).

Despite the poor shooting numbers, Wooster held the lead for the better part of the first half and went up by as many as six (17-11) seven minutes in. The Arrows jumped back into the game with a 7-0 run, capped by a jumper by Jessica Wood at 9:03, to take the lead for the first time at 18-17.

Eight lead changes and five ties followed down to the final minute of the half when Maria Gonzalez (Millersburg, Ohio / West Holmes) connected on a jumper to give Wooster a 37-35 advantage heading into the locker room.

Ursuline opened the second half by scoring the first six points to grab the lead back (37-41), however, a pair of Beth Besancon (Wooster, Ohio / Smithville) 3-pointers cut the deficit to one on two occasions (40-41 at 14:52 and 45-46 at 13:39).

After a layup by Gonzalez made it a four-point game (51-55) with 9:08 to play, the Arrows went on their largest run of the day, outscoring the Scots 17-4 over the next seven minutes to push the advantage to 17 points (55-72).

Wooster mounted a comeback, scoring nine of the last 12 points, but the effort came up short as time expired.

Junior Carly Loehrke (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Mattawan) led the Scots with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and a perfect night from the line (7-of-7). She also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds, including six on the offensive end. Besancon was in double figures for the first time this season, connecting on four 3-pointers and a jumper for 14 tallies, while Gonzalez managed eight points and five caroms.

Kassandra Dobson (Bellflower, Calif. / Millikan) led the Scot reserves with eight points and six rebounds.

Wood had a huge night for Ursuline, leading the way with 22 points, while pulling down a game-high 18 rebounds, including 13 in the second half alone. Three other Arrows were in double figures as well with Whitney Blackburn, Lisa Piechowski, and Kierra Turner contributing 16, 11, and 10 points, respectively.

Next up for Wooster is a conference match up with rival Wittenberg University (3-3, 1-0 NCAC) on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 2 p.m. at home. The Tigers own an 18-game winning streak against the Scots dating back to 1996-97, including 79-43, 64-61, and 73-51 victories last season.