UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, OH – Seniors Brianna Peters and Bria Eslick combined for 45 points as Wilmington secured the fourth seed in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) tournament, and the bye that accompanies it, with the 71-68 victory over John Carroll Saturday in OAC action.

Peters (Alexandria, KY/Campbell County) led the way with 24 points and seven rebounds, while Eslick (Cleveland Heights, OH/Lutheran East) added 21 points and a team-high nine boards.

"Both Bria and Brianna had monster games," said head coach Jerry Scheve. "They made big plays for us all game long."

In a game that featured 10 ties and seven lead changes, Wilmington biggest second-half lead was three points. John Carroll couldn't put more than four points between them and the Lady Quakers in the second stanza.

"The second half was a dogfight all the way, and we were able to make some big plays late to pull it out," said head coach Jerry Scheve.

In her first game back from injury, senior LeAnn Topp (New Bremen, OH/New Bremen) was in the middle of both plays. She assisted on both layups by Peters, including one coming off an inbounds play. Both baskets allowed the Lady Quakers to maintain a two-possession lead with less than four minutes remaining in the game.

Topp then sealed the victory with six seconds remaining at the free throw line. After JCU forwent the game-tying three-pointer for a lay-up with nine seconds remaining, Topp pushed the Wilmington lead back to three points – converting two free throws. The Blue Streaks didn't even get off a shot attempt as time expired. The forward finished with six points and a team-high nine rebounds.

John Carroll used a 9-0 run midway through the first half to take its largest lead of the game, and pretty much maintained the lofty bulge for the majority of the half.

However, four different Lady Quakers scored in WC's 10-2 run over the final 4:33 of the first half enabling them to go into the locker room tied.

Wilmington (14-9 overall, 10-6 OAC) wraps up the regular season with home games against Ohio Northern (7:30 p.m. Wednesday) and Mount Union (3 p.m. Saturday).