Ohio Wesleyan 63, Wooster 56

Feb. 15, 2007

Senior wing Rachel Messaros (Reynoldsburg/Bishop Hartley) and sophomore post Laurel Lawson (Navarre/Fairless) scored 4 points apiece during a 10-0 second-half run that put Ohio Wesleyan ahead to stay and the Bishops hit 6 of 8 free throws during the final minute to hold off a Wooster rally and take a North Coast Athletic Conference win on Thursday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Wooster had broken a 40-40 tie on a bucket by Winnie Adrien with 9:55 left in regulation time, but the Bishops would limit the Fighting Scots to just one basket in the next 7 minutes of play.

Lawson buried a 3-pointer to put Ohio Wesleyan ahead to stay with 9:32 left in the game, and sophomore post Katie Hamilton (Hilliard/Darby) and Messaros each followed with a pair of free throws. Messaros scored on a putback with 6:46 remaining to increase the Bishop lead to 49-42, and Lawson hit the first of 2 free throws to make it a 50-42 game with 4:46 remaining. When Lawson missed the second of her 2 shots, it was Ohio Wesleyan's first misfire from the charity stripe after the Bishops hit their first 17 free throws of the game.

Wooster closed to within 50-47 on a 3-pointer by Kym Wenz and a pair of free throws by Carly Loehrke, but Ohio Wesleyan answered with a pair of free throws by senior guard Emily Lloyd (Canton/Massillon Jackson). The Fighting Scots would come within 3 points on 2 other occasions, but both times the Bishops had an answer, first with a Hamilton lay-in and then with a 3-point play by junior post Kelli Lester (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial) that stretched the margin to 57-51 with 1:48 remaining.

Ohio Wesleyan then put the game away at the line, with junior wing Steffi Graf (Poland/Seminary) sinking a pair of free throws, Lester and Lloyd each adding another, and after Wooster closed within 61-56 on a 3-pointer by Beth Besancon Sidle with :28 to play, Graf slammed the door on the Scots by sinking 2 more free throws.

The Bishops had taken an early 5-2 lead on a Lloyd 3-pointer, but Wooster reeled off 10 straight points to grab a 12-5 edge, then increased the lead to 17-9 on Loehrke's free throw with 7:21 left in the first half.

Ohio Wesleyan answered with a 10-0 run of its own, with Messaros leading the way with a bucket and a pair of free throws, but Wooster countered with 7 straight points and held a 26-25 lead at the intermission.

The free throw line kept the Bishops in the game during the first half. Ohio Wesleyan shot 25 percent from the field during the first 20 minutes but made all 8 of its free throws, while Wooster made 50 percent of its shots during the first half but only 3 of 10 free throws during that span.

The lead went back and forth during the early moments of the second half, with the Bishops taking a 35-31 lead on Graf's 3-pointer with 15:24 to go only to see Wooster come back with 7 straight points, highlighted by another Besancon Sidle 3-pointer, for a 40-38 lead with 13:34 to play.

Graf led the Bishops with 14 points, while Lloyd finished with 11 points and Hamilton added 10 points. Lester grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds.

Loehrke led Wooster with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Maria Gonzalez added 12 points and Besancon Sidle led the Fighting Scots with 4 assists.

Box Score

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