On a day the Wilmington College women's basketball team honored their five seniors, three of the seniors went down firing as the Lady Quakers fell to Mount Union Saturday, 75-67, in the regular season finale at Fred Raizk Arena in Hermann Court.
"We played them toe-to-toe for the first 35 minutes," said head coach Jerry Scheve. "We played very solid, and did some things very well.
Shelby Kies (Maineville, OH/Kings), Bria Eslick (Cleveland Heights, OH/Lutheran East) and Brianna Peters (Alexandria, KY/Campbell County) combined for 46 of the team's 67 points. They combined to shoot 13-of-39 from the field. Senior LeAnn Topp (New Bremen, OH/New Bremen) added three points and five rebounds, while senior Emily Zimmerman (Beavercreek, OH/Beavercreek) missed both of her shots as the quintet played their final regular season home game.
"Shelby had a great game, and her shooting kept us in the game in the second half," said Scheve. "Right now, Bria and Brianna are scoring for us. We have to get some others back on track."
Eslick finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Kies - who was one point away from her career-high - added a season-high 16 points. Peters recorded her third double-double of the season with 14 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
However, they will have another opportunity to play in front of the home fans. The Lady Quakers host the quarterfinals of the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament 6 p.m. Tuesday. Wilmington plays the winner of Monday's opening round game between Capital and Muskingum.
The second half featured eight lead changes and eight times, but a late 16-4 run enabled Mount Union to seize control and pull out the victory.
After falling down by seven, midway through the second half, Peters and Eslick combined for seven straight to pull WC even for the sixth time. With her fourth three-pointer of the game, Kies gave Wilmington its final lead of the game – a one-point edge with 6:13 remaining.
Mount Union answered with a three-pointer of its own, and then turned up the pressure to force back-to-back turnovers. The momentum swung almost immediately, and the Purple Raiders rode it to the victory.