HIRAM, Ohio - January 29, 2022 – Hiram College women's basketball won it's third straight, doubling up The College of Wooster in the second half, 52-26, to roll to an 80-54 victory over the Fighting Scots on Saturday inside Price Gymnasium.
After
Madison Branch and Harley Holloway traded buckets to open the first quarter, Hiram raced out to an early lead, opening up a 12-2 lead just over five minutes into the first, and taking a 19-6 lead into the second quarter.
As a team, the Terriers shot 61.5 percent from the floor in the second half and held Wooster to just 27.3 percent shooting, and 0-for-4 from beyond the arc.
Following Holloway's bucket to even the score at 2-all, the Terriers scored the next 12 points to take a 14-2 lead, with six each coming from Branch and
Cici Bright. And after the Fighting Scots made it 14-4, the Terriers used a 5-0 run to take a 19-4 lead, before Holloway beat the buzzer with her driving layup to make it 19-6 after one.
However, the Terriers would go cold in the second, as Wooster clawed back. Down 21-6 following Bright's fourth-made layup of the game, the Fighting Scots answered with a 14-0 run, coming back to pull within on Holloway's jumper with 3:57 to play in the first half.
A pair of free throws by Branch brought Hiram's lead back out to three, but Masani Francis stroked a triple to tie the game at 23-all with 3:11 left in the first half.
Hiram again built a lead, this time on a free throw from
Selena Vargas and
Haley Thompson's step-back jumper, but the Fighting Scots kept things close and tied things at 28-all on Tamara Turner's three-pointer heading into the locker room.
At the break, Branch led the Terriers with 10 points, while Thompson tallied seven rebounds and four assists.
Coming out of the locker room, Hiram quickly re-took the lead and never looked back. A Thompson layup made it 30-28 and kicked off a 10-0 run, as the Terriers opened a 38-28 third-quarter lead before Wooster got on the scoreboard in the second half.
Two free throws by Krista English made it an eight-point game, but Hiram continued its charge, pulling further ahead with a 9-4 run to take a 13-point, 47-34 lead on Bright's layup with 2:22 left in the third.
Bright then added another layup, one of 15 points on the afternoon for the senior, and Vargas added one herself as well, as Hiram took its largest lead of the third, 51-34, and 55-38 heading to the fourth.
With a pair of runs, Hiram outscored the Fighting Scots, 27-10 in the third period, shooting 55 percent from the floor and 40 percent from three, while holding Wooster to just two made field goals on 12.5 percent shooting.
And the Terriers continued to pull away in the fourth, increasing their lead to as large as 29 twice in the final frame. Branch opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a driving layup, and a pair of made free throws from Thompson made it a 20-point Hiram lead.
Branch and
Alex Lichner added two more buckets to made it a 23-point game, before Thompson's three-pointer off a missed free throw made it a 27-point lead.
Branch then capped off the run with a driving layup, giving Hiram a a 69-40 lead. The Terriers would lead by no less than 22 the rest of the way and would double-up the Fighting Scots in the second half, 52-26, to finish off the 80-54 victory.
Branch led the Terriers with 21 points, while Thompson fell three assists shy of a triple-double, notching her second double-double of the year with 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
Bright joined Branch and Thompson scoring in double figures with 15 points, adding eight rebounds, while Vargas fell two points shy of a double-double with eight points and 12 rebounds.
Every Terrier who saw action against the Fighting Scots scored, as Hiram shot 47 percent for the game and held Wooster to just 28.8 percent shooting.
Hiram also outscored the Fighting Scots, 44-12 in the paint and 20-8 off turnovers.
The Terriers will look to make it four straight when they return to action on Sunday, Jan. 30 against the Wittenberg Tigers at 2 p.m. inside Price Gymnasium.
