Upset hopes were alive Saturday night inside Timken Gymnasium as The College of Wooster women's basketball team found themselves tied with 12th-ranked Ohio Wesleyan University with just seven minutes remaining.

Yet, while the Scots stayed close, tying the Bishops twice in the opening minutes of the final quarter, they could never recapture the lead in the second half, and Ohio Wesleyan escaped with a 71-59 victory in North Coast Athletic Conference play.

In the fourth, Wooster never got as close as they did with the game tied at 51 with seven minutes remaining. Junior Ace Sturdivant made a pair of key jump shots to bring Wooster within one with 5:24 left, but Ohio Wesleyan (14-1, 5-0 NCAC) would go on a key 7-0 run to make the deficit too large to overcome.

Wooster (9-7, 1-4 NCAC) seemed to learn from this past week after playing in their third consecutive game against a ranked opponent. They got solid production throughout the lineup but from their two leading scorers in Sturdivant and Mackenzie Riccitelli, while solid bench production from Abby Henegar, who returned after missing the last game.

Riccitelli finished with a team-high 14 points and a game-high six assists and four steals. Sturdivant scored 13 and Henegar scored 11 points and each collected five rebounds.

Ohio Wesleyan had four reach double figures, led by an 18-point, 12-rebound performance from Macy Miller. Madie Ebbert was one rebound shy of a double-double herself, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Rebounding hurt the Scots late, as they were making stops but not coming up with the defensive boards. Wooster took the rebounding battle 37-36, but Ohio Wesleyan scored nine of their 12 second chance points in the fourth quarter.

Turnovers also played a major role as Ohio Wesleyan committed just 10 to Wooster's 22.

Otherwise, the teams were similar in other categories. Wooster held the slight edge in shooting percentage from the floor, 3-point range and the foul line, while both teams each scored 34 points in the paint.

Ohio Wesleyan held a slight lead after the first quarter and expanded it to seven at halftime, 35-28. However, Wooster won the third and carried over its best run of the game – six straight - into the fourth, to tie the game at 49.

Wooster has their next three games away, and they will get their first look at Kenyon College on Wednesday.