UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – The North Coast Athletic Conference schedule did not get any easier for The College of Wooster women's basketball team on Wednesday as they traveled to 10th-ranked John Carroll University and took an 88-46 loss.
It was Wooster's second matchup against a ranked opponent in less than a week, and it was an eerily similar result after falling 88-47 to Denison University on Saturday. On Wednesday, the Scots were also without one of their key contributors in junior
Abby Henegar.
Early on, the Scots played tight with John Carroll, surviving an early 6-0 run. However, the game's turning point came late in the first quarter and carried over into the second when John Carroll (14-1, 3-1 NCAC) expanded on a two-point lead with a 16-0 run, only to be stopped by
Mackenzie Riccitelli's first points of the game, a 3-pointer deep from the wing.
The Blue Streaks became unstoppable from range in the second quarter, going 6-for-9 and headed into halftime with a 50-23 lead. The halftime period did not cool them off either, going 4-for-4 from range to start the quarter and sparking a 14-2 run to put the game well out of reach.
John Carroll ended up shooting 52 percent from 3-point range (13-25), while Wooster only connected four times from deep. Wooster also did not help themselves from the foul line, shooting a season-low 18 percent (2-11).
Riccitelli finished with a team-high 10 points.
Ace Sturdivant scored seven points,
Ella Dean added six and
Graysen Redpath scored five.
Ellery Kloek and
Emily Webb each scored four.
John Carroll's
Ava Ryncarz led the 3-point barrage, scoring a game-high 24 points behind six 3-pointers. In addition to the team's 52 percent clip from range, John Carroll also shot an even 50 percent (30-60) from the floor and 83 percent (15-18) from the charity stripe.
John Carroll won the rebounding battle 35-21 and scored 30 points off 24 Wooster turnovers.
Wooster (9-6, 1-3 NCAC) will square off against its third straight ranked opponent on Saturday when they welcome 12th-ranked Ohio Wesleyan University to Timken Gymnasium.
