Late Second-Half Surge Lifts SUNY Fredonia Over Wooster, 61-55

Kaitlin Krister

WOOSTER, Ohio - The College of Wooster women’s basketball team was tied at 46-46 with 5:31 left in its bout with SUNY Fredonia in the consolation game of the 12th Annual Nan Nichols Classic, but the Blue Devils flexed their muscles down the stretch, and pulled out the 61-55 victory Sunday afternoon in Timken Gymnasium.

Notre Dame (Ohio) College took home the tournament title with a 79-71 victory over Misericordia University in the finals. Notre Dame shot nearly 50 percent from the field (31-of-64), including 59.3 percent (16-of-27) in the second half, and slowly edged away from the feisty Cougars for the victory.

The first contest came down to the final minutes as each team battled back and forth, with the Blue Devils ripping off a 13-3 run over a five-minute stretch late in the half and held their largest lead of the game with just 44 seconds left, 59-49. Sophomore Priscilla Staples and freshman Taylor Keegan connected on three-point field goals in the waning seconds, but came up just shorts and fell to 0-2 on the season.

The Scots opened the game connecting on their first two shots and held a 5-0 advantage, as Wooster controlled play and never trailed in the opening stanza. Wooster went up by as many as 11 (29-18) on a lay-up by Kaitlin Krister with 1:25 remaining, but Fredonia scored on its final two possessions of the half on jump shots by Cheryl Kindzia and sliced the Wooster advantage to seven (29-22) at the intermission.

A 12-5 run to start the second period knotted the game at 34-34, while the team sides exchanged buckets before Fredonia (1-1) pulled away for the win in the final minutes.

Krister tied for team-high honors for Wooster with 13 points and corralled 11 rebounds for her first career double-double, garnering her a spot on the all-tournament team. Keegan also finished with 13 points for the Scots, while Staples chipped in with seven points and eight rebounds.

Kindzia led Fredonia with 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to earn all-tourney honors, while Maria Scaffidi and Angela Pucciarelli chipped in with 15 and 11, respectively. Pucciarelli led the way with a game-best 12 rebounds, while Scaffidi dished out five assists and collected three steals.

The championship played out similarly to the consolation game early on as Notre Dame (4-0) jumped out to an 12-point lead (21-9) just under seven minutes into the contest. Misericordia fought its way to get back into the game and trailed by four (35-31) by the end of the half.

After both teams struggled shooting the ball in the opening 20 minutes, each team found its rhythm in the second stanza. The Cougars managed to deadlock the score (35-35) just 2:30 into the final frame and trailed by one (42-41) with 14:02 left, but a 16-5 run put Notre Dame up by double figures (58-46) with 9:59 to go. Notre Dame never looked back, holding a double-digit lead for a majority of the remainder of the game.

Molly Baker earned the Most Outstanding Player award for Notre Dame after posting a double-double with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and four steals. Additionally, Sarah Dia and Ashley Carney earned all-tournament honors for their efforts on the weekend. Dia finished with 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals and was named the Defensive Most Valuable Player, while Carney tallied 17 points. Jamie Henry and Yvette Hunter were also in double-figures with 15 and 10 points, respectively.

Misericordia (1-1) was led by all-tourney selections Ericka Morrison and Amy Hughes. Morrison totaled 22 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists on the day, while Hughes contributed 18 tallies and six rebounds.