Ohio Wesleyan 65, Wooster 51
Freshman guard Sarah McQuade (Dublin/Coffman) and freshman wing Caroline Welker (Delaware/Hayes) scored 13 first-half points apiece, and freshman post LaNiece McRae (Youngstown/Chaney) scored 8 of her 9 points during the second half as Ohio Wesleyan pulled away for a North Coast Athletic Conference win over Wooster on Wednesday at Branch Rickey Arena.
The Bishops threatened to run away with the game during the first half, breaking a 10-10 tie with a 9-2 burst that included a pair of McQuade free throws and then a pair of buckets and a 3-pointer from Welker, but Wooster answered with a 12-0 counteroffensive that saw Karley Walker bury a pair of 3-pointers and a jumper from the lane.
Wooster still led, 30-24, after another Walker jumper from the lane, but the Bishops answered with a 10-2 spurt that saw Welker knock down a pair of 3-pointers, McQuade kick in a pair of free throws, and freshman post Megan Gentile (Newton, Mass./North) add a fast-break lay-in, and the Bishops took a 35-34 lead into the locker room courtesy of McRae's free throw with :44 left in the half.
Ohio Wesleyan opened the second half with a 9-0 run to push the lead into double figures, with freshman wing Mary Corbett (Columbus/Upper Arlington) opening the scoring with a 3-pointer and McQuade following with a lay-in before lay-ins by Welker and McQuade made it 44-34 with 14:02 to play.
Jessica Wingen sank a jumper with 13:49 to end Wooster's scoring drought, but that would be the Fighting Scots' last basket until a Wingen lay-in with 6:09 remaining in regulation time. The Scots would end up hitting 4 of 32 shots from the field during the half for 12.5 percent, and the Bishops did not allow the visitors to come closer than 10 points of the lead during the final 12 minutes of the contest.
McQuade led the Bishops with 19 points and 5 assists. Welker finished with 17 points, and sophomore post Tamra Londot (Utica) grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
Maura Hall led Wooster with 14 points and 17 rebounds -- 11 of them off the offensive glass. Walker finished with 14 points and Ashley Lindemann scored 10 points.
Box Score
