WOOSTER, Ohio – On a night when the offense just wasn't clicking, the Kenyon College women's basketball team turned to its defense to get the job done. The Ladies held the host Fighting Scots to one fourth-quarter field goal, while pulling away for 61-49 conference victory.
Trailing 27-25 at the half, the Ladies outscored the Fighting Scots by three in the third quarter. Junior
Paige Matijasich scored nine points in the frame and pushed the Ladies into the fourth quarter with a slim 46-45 lead.
From there, the defense kicked in. Kenyon yielded just one field goal and allowed Wooster only four points in the fourth quarter. The Fighting Scots were 1-of-12 shooting. Kenyon forced five turnovers, came up with two steals, one block and out-rebounded the Fighting Scots 12-8 in that final frame.
Matijasich tacked on another five points in the fourth, while
Ellie Schaub and
Sharon Hull did the same to put the game away. Schaub finished with a game-high 18 points. She also racked up six rebounds, two steals and two assists. Matijasich ended up with 14 points, all in the second half, and
Grace Connery scored 13, all in the first half.
Grinding through a rough shooting night, Schaub and Connery carried Kenyon. Together, they connected on 12 of 21 attempts (57.1 percent), while the rest of the team shot 10-of-43 (23.3 percent). The Ladies, however, did fare well from long distance (8-of-22) and at the free throw line (9-of-11).
For the first 34 minutes of the contest, the teams went back-and-forth. There were five occasions with a tied score and 15 lead changes in that span. It wasn't until the 6:19 mark of the fourth quarter that Kenyon claimed complete control, scoring nine straight points. The 12-point final margin was the largest of the game.
With the win, Kenyon improved to 14-7 overall and 8-5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The win also was Kenyon's 22nd straight against Wooster and completed the series sweep for the Ladies, who opened the season with an 87-66 home win over the Fighting Scots.
The loss, Wooster's fifth in a row, dropped the Fighting Scots to 5-15 overall and 1-10 within NCAC play.
