Misericordia Nips Scots, Earns Trip to Nan Nichols Championship

Kaitlin Krister elevates for a shot over Misericordia's Bernadette Guy.

WOOSTER, Ohio - The College of Wooster women’s basketball team was prevented from making the finals of its own Nan Nichols Classic, falling to Misericordia University in the first round 65-64 on Saturday afternoon in Timken Gymnasium. Misericordia moves on to face Notre Dame (Ohio) College, an 89-66 winner over SUNY Fredonia, in the championship game at 3 p.m. on Sunday, while the Fighting Scots will face the Blue Devils in the consolation game at 1 p.m.

The Scots (0-1) grabbed a slim 64-60 lead with 58 seconds left in the game on a jumper by sophomore Kaitlin Krister. On the ensuing two possessions, Misericordia got a three-pointer from Courtney Sykes and a lay-up from Amy Hughes, and clung on to a 65-64 lead with just 10 seconds left. Wooster attempted two final game-winning shots, but both were off the mark.

Wooster, winners of last year’s Nan Nichols tournament, came out strong in the 12th installment of the event, jumping ahead 7-0 at 13:51 on a three-pointer by Colleen Goodwillie.

Misericordia (1-0) bounced back with a 12-5 run and tied the contest for the first time with 8:09 left in the opening stanza. The Cougars made the contest 17-12 in their favor on back-to-back lay-ups by Ericka Morrison and a free throw from Hughes. The Scots came back to grab a one-point edge (20-19) at the 3:09 mark on a lay-up by sophomore Kym Wenz.

The two teams traded buckets over the final minutes, as Wooster seized the advantage in the final seconds with a jumper from Priscilla Staples, giving the Scots a 28-25 halftime advantage.

With the game tied at 31-31 with 18:48 remaining, Wooster rattled off a 9-2 over the next 90 seconds capped off by a three-pointer from junior Meredith Wilson. The Cougars answered with a big 14-0 run over a 4:08 span and held a 47-40 advantage. The Scots responded with two buckets from sophomore Kaitlin Krister and a three-pointer from Wenz over the next two-plus minutes of action, knotting the game at 47-47. Over the final minutes, neither team edged away setting up the finish in a game that saw six ties and 11 lead changes.

Morrison, Hughes and Lacey DeGraw did a little of everything on the day for the Cougars, leading the way with 16, 15 and 10 points, respectively, and grabbing six rebounds apiece. Lindsey Sykes chipped in with eight points and a team-high five assists to go along with Hughes’ four helpers.

For Wooster, Wenz was the high scorer with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point range. She also dished four assists and added seven rebounds and three steals. Krister had a big day, posting career-highs in points (16), rebounds (8), steals (3), and blocks (7).

In the day’s first contest, Notre Dame took advantage of a big late second-half explosion and defeated Fredonia. The game was tied at 61-61 with 8:34 left, but the Falcons caught fire and outscored the Blue Devils 28-5 the remainder of the game for the easy 89-66 victory.

Notre Dame’s Molly Baker led five players in double figures with 25 points as well as picking up eight steals. Ashley Carney came off the bench and posted 22 points on 9-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, and tied for the team-lead with six assists. Additionally, Sarah Dia chipped in with 14 tallies and five steals, while Jamie Henry nearly collected a double-double with 10 points and tied for game-high honors with nine caroms.

Cheryl Kindzia had a big game, posting a game-high 27 points to go along with nine rebounds for Fredonia, four of which were on the offensive glass, while Angela Pucciarelli was the other Blue Devil in double figures with 16.