Jessie Oram (Sr.)

January 30, 2007 -- Oberlin put up a strong fight tonight at The College of Wooster, but a late run by the Fighting Scots helped the hosts claim a 66-63 North Coast Athletic Conference victory at Timken Gymnasium. Senior captain Jessie Oram tallied a game-high 25 points on 10-17 shooting and sophomore guard Alyssa Clark added 12, but it wasn't quite enough to lift the Yeowomen past Wooster. With the loss, Oberlin's record falls to 5-14 overall and 1-10 in league play, while the Fighting Scots improved to 11-8 (6-4 NCAC).

The Yeowomen trailed the hosts 63-64 with 35 seconds left when Clark stole a pass by Wooster's Maria Gonzalez and headed off to the races. Clark's jumper fell just short, though, and Gonzalez redeemed herself with a pair of free throws six seconds left. A deep three-pointer by first-year guard Alicia Smith was dead-on as time expired, but the shot was just short of the rim.

The first half went quite well for the Yeowomen, as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead with 17:30 left in the period. First-year Monica Zell drilled a trey to open up the game, and Oram proceeded to score four-straight points to give Oberlin the early advantage. By the time the dust settled in the opening half, the Yeowomen led 32-31 and Oram had 16 points on 7-10 shooting.

In the second half, Wooster outscored Oberlin 12-2 in the first three and a half minutes to take a 43-36 lead. The Yeowomen stormed back, though, taking a 45-43 lead after a layup by Smith. The Fighting Scots led 54-50 and Oberlin had a chance to cut into the lead with about six minutes left. Wooster forced a Yeowoman turnover and then scored four straight points to go ahead 58-50 with 5:38 left, setting the stage for Oberlin's late comeback.

Oberlin outrebounded Wooster 40-36 and held the hosts to 1-19 shooting from beyond the arc, but four Fighting Scots reached double figures en route to outscoring Oberlin in the paint, 34-20. Additionally, Wooster scored 24 points off 19 turnovers by the Yeowomen.

Helping out Oram and Clark in the scoring column was Zell, who tallied nine points on three treys and picked up a game-high four steals. Sophomore point guard Kira Rivera racked up seven points, while junior forward Roneisha Kinney chipped in four. Clark had another great all around game for Head Coach Christa Champion, contributing a game-high eight rebounds and a team-best five assists.

Wooster was paced tonight by Kym Wenz's 14 points and five boards. Beth Sidle also accumulated nine points, a game-high six assists, and three steals in 30 minutes of action.

Oberlin will return to action on February 2 when it hosts NCAC rival Denison University at 7:30 p.m.

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