WOOSTER, Ohio - Senior forward Lauren Hancher scored her 1,000th career point as The College of Wooster women's basketball team pulled away late during its 75-63 win over visiting Geneva College on Wednesday evening at Timken Gymnasium.
Hancher, the eighth 1,000-point scorer in program history, reached the milestone on her layup with 6:40 remaining in the fourth period. The layup came as part of a 12-2 run that helped put the game away.
Geneva (0-2) cut Wooster's (2-0) lead to six at 54-48 with 9:33 remaining in the contest. A 3-pointer from senior counterpart Sydney Grier helped spark the run that saw five different Fighting Scots contribute points during. Wooster maintained a double-digit lead for the duration, including an advantage by as many as 17 on sophomore Aki Shureld's layup after a steal that put the Scots up 75-58 with 1:26 remaining.
Hancher helped jump start Wooster in the first period as the basketball and soccer dual-sport standout scored six straight points as part of a 10-0 run to put the College on top 20-10 with 1:48 remaining. Junior Sydney Failing capped the run with four straight points of her own.
First-year Shar Hankerson connected on back-to-back field goals in the second period to push Wooster's lead to double-figures at 30-19 with 4:20 remaining. The Scots carried a 12-point lead into half time after junior Rachel Collins' jumper with 19 seconds remaining.
Wooster twice pushed its lead to 17 in the third period, first on a layup from first-year Anna Gibbs to make the score 46-29, and later on a pair of free throws from Hancher to make the score 48-31. Geneva's own basketball and soccer dual-sport standout Heidi Mann helped lead the Golden Tornadoes back cutting Wooster's lead down to eight at 52-44 with :12 remaining in the stanza.
Wooster's athletic, high-pressure defense played a huge role in the game as the Scots recorded 21 steals, the first 20-steal game in program history since recording 20 at Lake Erie College on Jan. 19, 2005. For the game Geneva turned the ball over 31 times, a statistic Wooster turned into 28 points.
Hancher, who missed Saturday's opener due to an academic obligation, finished with a team-best 18 points on the night. Other statistical leaders included Gibbs with 11 points, Failing with 10 rebounds, and Shurelds with a career-best six steals.
Wooster remains at home as it hosts the 20th annual Nan Nichols Classic this weekend. Wooster plays Alma College (1-0) at 5 p.m. on Saturday and Adrian College (0-1) at 3 p.m. on Sunday.