Balanced Scoring Leads Wooster Past Ursuline 72-63

Michaelyn Brunner

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A balanced scoring attack, led by junior Michaelyn Brunner's 16 points, led The College of Wooster women's basketball team past Ursuline 72-63 Saturday afternoon in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Scots (5-3), who have equaled their best start since the beginning of the 1997-98 season, had 12 different players reach the scoring column and 15 different players see playing time.

While Wooster only won by nine points, the game was not really close in the second half. The Scots held a slim 38-33 lead at halftime, but spurted out to an 18-point lead midway through the second half to cruise to the victory. The loss dropped Ursuline to 1-7 on the season.

Brunner, who came into the game as Wooster's second-leading scorer with an average of 11.3 points per game, scored 16 on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. Junior Nara DeJesus was right behind, scoring 15 points while going a perfect 7-of-7 from the foul line. DeJesus also led the Scots in rebounding with 10 boards, marking the fifth time this season she has collected a double-double.

Also reaching double figures for Wooster was junior Kristen Rice, who came off of the bench to score 11 points in 21 minutes.

Pacing the Arrows' attack were Jenae Jones and Tomara Nicole, who finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Nicole led all players with seven assists.

Statistically, Wooster shot 47 percent (25-of-53) from the floor while holding Ursuline to 43 percent (25-of-58) shooting. The Scots shot 50 percent in the decisive second half, while the Arrows shot only 38 percent for the half. Wooster also held a big advantage at the foul line, outscoring Ursuline by 13 points from the stripe.

The Scots do not return to action for two weeks, when they travel to Cleveland again to face Case Western Reserve on Saturday, Dec. 29.