WOOSTER, Ohio – Freshman Karley Walker scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the second half, and senior Taylor Keegan drained a key 3-pointer down the stretch, pushing The College of Wooster past Thiel College 59-50 in its home opener Saturday during the 15th annual Nan Nichols Classic.
The Scots (1-1) built a 41-32 lead about five minutes into the second half, and appeared to be pulling away, but the Tomcats (0-2) clawed back to within three (43-40) with 10:46 remaining in the action. It was then that Walker went to work, as she splashed back-to-back 3-pointers during a 26 second span, pushing Wooster's cushion to 49-42.
Again Thiel got back into the game, though, as it went on a 6-2 run, which included a pair of Kelly Barzak layups, to pull within 51-48 with 6:23 to go.
Both teams locked in defensively over the next four minutes, holding each other scoreless during that stretch, until Keegan snapped the shooting slump with a 3-ball on junior Keshia Butler's assist that made it 54-48. Freshman Ashley Lindemann and junior Kristen Schwartz made a handful of free throws during the closing moments to seal Wooster's victory.
It was Wooster that built a slight advantage in the game's early goings, as sophomore Jessica Wingen delivered consecutive buckets in the paint to give the Scots a 10-5 lead. From that moment on, the first half was closely contested, as the lead changed eight times in total, but two tough baskets from freshman Maura Hall, and Walker's driving layup that beat the buzzer, allowed Wooster to head into the break with a slight lead (27-25).
Walker led the way with a career-high 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Also noteworthy, Schwartz racked up her second-consecutive double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds), while Wingen poured in 10 points to go along with three blocks.
The Tomcats were paced by Chelsi Clark's 12 points, and Barzak posted her own double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.
The Scots will play in the Nan Nichols championship game tomorrow at 3 p.m. against SUNY Geneseo (2-0), who upended Trine University 53-44 in Saturday's early tilt.