The College of Wooster women's basketball team returned to North Coast Athletic Conference play on Saturday, welcoming 16th-ranked Denison University to Timken Gymnasium.

The full-court defensive pressure from the Big Red gave the Scots trouble, forcing Wooster into a season-high 28 turnovers in an 88-47 loss.

Denison had four reach double figures in scoring. Adelyn Moore and Ada Taute each scored a game-high 17 points.

For Wooster, Pink Sturdivant scored 10 points, while Emily Webb came off the bench to add nine.

Sturdivant gave Wooster an early 3-1 lead after sinking her only 3-point attempt. Yet, things went Denison's way quickly, taking a 15-5 lead up to the first media timeout.

Wooster, however, played some of their most inspired ball after the timeout. After a Denison score, Wooster went on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to four thanks in part to a 3-pointer from Webb and a 3-point play from Sturdivant.

Late baskets gave Denison a 21-13 lead after the first quarter. The Big Red kept that momentum into the second, breaking open the game with its largest run at 13-0.

Wooster saw two of its key players, Mackenzie Riccitelli and Ella Biondi, facing early foul trouble, as Denison led 43-19 at halftime.

The third quarter was more of the same, with Denison winning 29-10. Wooster was able to win the battle of the benches in the fourth, 18-16.

Denison shot 48 percent (33-69) to Wooster's 31 percent (15-49) and outscored the Scots in several key categories including points in the paint (52-22), second chance points (20-6) and bench points (36-25). Denison also won the rebounding battle 41-34.

Denison stays undefeated on the year, moving to 14-0 and 3-0 in the conference. Wooster drops to 9-5 and 1-2 NCAC record.

This was Wooster's second matchup against a ranked opponent after a non-conference bout with Baldwin Wallace University earlier in the year. Next, the Scots hit the road to face another winning program in John Carroll University (12-1, 2-1 NCAC) on Wednesday.