Wooster Women End Brief Losing Skid With 75-70 Win

Nara DeJesus collected a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds against Denison.

WOOSTER, Ohio - A 14-2 run over the final 5:30 pushed The College of Wooster past visiting Denison University 75-70 on Tuesday in North Coast Athletic Conference women's basketball action, putting an end to Wooster's three-game losing skid.

Two free throws by senior Molly Baumann gave Denison a seven-point lead with 5:30 left, but the Scots' defense held the Big Red to 1-of-10 shooting from the field and forced four turnovers the rest of the way, while on the other end of the court, Wooster chipped away at the lead.

The Scots took a 69-68 advantage with 3:02 left - their first lead since early in the second half - on a layup by sophomore Michaelyn Brunner (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park). Wooster then added another layup and a pair of free throws, taking a commanding lead into the final minute of play.

Denison cut the game down to 73-70 with :56 remaining and had an opportunity to tie it, but senior Traci Varrasso's three-point attempt was off the mark. Brunner got the rebound, was fouled, and canned a pair of free throws to seal the Scots' first league win of the year.

Leading the way for Wooster in scoring was senior forward Morgan Ramsdell (Toledo, Ohio / Sylvania Northview), who had 17 points, including 10 of the first 12 Scot tallies of the game. Sophomore forward Nara DeJesus (Geneva, Ohio / Geneva) posted a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in the victory.

Wooster's guards played well, especially Brunner, who came off the bench to score a career-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-2 from three-point range. Also, sophomore Kerri Horst (West Salem, Ohio / Northwestern) had 15 points to go along with her team-leading four steals.

The Big Red were led by senior Kristin Love, who tallied a game-high 18 points, but not other player had double-digits in scoring.

Statistically, the Scots shot the ball very well, hitting 45.2 percent (28-of-62) of their field goals, all the more impressive, considering they were coming off a dismal 28.4 percent (21-of-74) shooting performance in their last outing - a disappointing 69-60 loss to Earlham College on Saturday.

Thanks to a solid first half, Denison made 42.0 percent (29-of-69) of its shots for the game, but that number dropped to 35.3 percent (12-of-34) in the second stanza.

Wooster, which now sits with a 2-3 overall record and 1-2 mark in the NCAC, returns to action this weekend, as it will host the fifth annual Nan Nichols Classic.

On Friday, Dec. 8, Ohio Dominican College will meet Westminster College (Pa.) in the opening game of the tourney at 6 p.m., followed by Ursuline College battling the host Scots. The consolation and championship contests will take place on Saturday, Dec. 9, at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

The Big Red slip to 5-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play.