From the opening tip, the Wilmington College women's basketball team was aggressive on both ends of the court, and it was able to record the 59-47 victory over Mount Union Saturday at Fred Raizk Arena in Hermann Court.
"Obviously, we needed this win today," said Wilmington head coach Jerry Scheve. "We have been struggling, we know that. What we wanted to establish today is that regardless of what were are doing on the offensive end, we can stay with a good team by playing good defense, by rebounding the ball and getting loose balls – and that is what we did today. I think we had to come out and play defensively like we did tonight, and play with the energy we did tonight. Our real focus tonight was Mount Union is a team that is not going to be out-scrapped by anybody, and that is the way they play, and we had to match that. I thought we did that is the first half especially."
The Fightin' Quakers limited Mount Union to just 28.3 percent shooting from the field, and marched to the line 36 times – making 30.
Senior Courtney Tucker (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore) was key part of Wilmington's defense, holding the league's second-leading scorer scoreless. It was the first time this season Annie Bova failed to score, and just the third time she failed to reach double figures.
"More than failing to score, she only got three shots off," said Scheve. "She can get shots off at the drop of a hat. I thought Courtney's defense on her was probably the most important factor in this game."
Not only did Wilmington force the Purple Raiders into the second-worst shooting performance on the season, they did an excellent job of keeping their visitors off the glass. Wilmington held a plus-10 advantage on the glass.
The Purple Raiders managed eight offensive rebounds, four coming in the last five minutes of the game.
"Our effort in the first half was outstanding," said Scheve. "Rebounds are loose ball. Who is going to go get them? Who is going to get the ball on floor? The first half, we were outstanding. The second half, not as good, but I was proud of our effort."
Junior Alexandria Kingsbery (Lima, OH/Central Catholic) started a 15-1 run with four straight points. Wilmington reserves tallied nine of the 15 points in the spurt that enabled the Fightin' Quakers to build a 17-point lead toward the end of the first half.
Mount Union trimmed the WC advantage to just 10 points in the second half, but sophomore Ja'Cole Tabor (Dayton, OH/Chaminade Julienne) and freshman Emily Smith (Bellbrook, OH/Bellbrook) helped Wilmington stem the tide. The Purple Raiders never truly threatened afterwards.
Junior Ashley Andracki (Columbus, OH/Bishop Watterson) was the only player in double figures, finishing with 12 points. Tucker added a team-high 11 rebounds with seven points, while sophomore Mary Moyer (Martinsville, OH/Clinton-Massie) and Smith each tallied nine points.
Wilmington (8-5 overall, 2-4 OAC) hosts the Polar Bears of Ohio Northern 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
