The Wilmington College women's basketball team shot 44.4 percent from the field, and opened Ohio Athletic Conference action with the 76-56 victory over Mount Union Saturday in Fred Raizk Arena at Hermann Court.
"I was unhappy with the first minute of the game, but after that, we played hard for 39 minutes; played smart and played together," said Wilmington head coach Jerry Scheve. "It was a total team effort. We played everyone and they all played well."
Wilmington went on a 23-4 run during a six-minute stretch of the first period to build a 17-point advantage. The Fightin' Quakers defensive limited Mount Union to just 20 percent (3-of-15) from the field in the quarter. The lead never got below double figures.
WC forced 19 turnovers and held Mount Union to just 29.7 percent (19-of-64) from the field, and a paltry 19.4 percent (6-of-31) from beyond the arc.
"Overall, we did a nice job defensively," said Scheve. "They took a lot, which is what they normally do, but I thought for the most part they were contested. Long three-pointers create long rebounds, and we need to do a better job of boxing out on the perimeter."
Leading by 17 at the break, it didn't take long for the Wilmington advantage to get dwindled nearly in half. Mount Union scored nine of the first 11 points of the second half to get within 10.
Senior Ashley Andracki (Columbus, OH/Bishop Watterson) had a three-point play and a three-pointer to boost the lead back to 18, and forced a MTU timeout.
"They made a nice run to get it down to 10, and we had Mary right away with her third (foul) and Brittaney with her third," said Scheve. "We went to the bench and we were able to build the lead back up, and that was the turning point."
Wilmington's lead grew to as much as 21, and hovered around the 20-point margin for the remainder of the game.
Sophomore Mackenzie Campbell (Cincinnati, OH/Turpin) and senior Brittaney Jefferson (Dayton, OH/Chaminade Julienne) combined for 41 points on 12-of-24 shooting with 15 rebounds, four steals and one assist to lead the Fightin' Quakers.
"They were our leading scorers a year ago, and probably what it's going to be like today," said Scheve, "However, they weren't the whole show. We were running out of players in the first half. Our foul situation in the post was critical. We were turning guards into posts, but I thought despite that, we held it together."
Campbell led the way with 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting and a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line. She added eight boards, six defensive, with one assist. Jefferson contributed 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting with seven boards and four steals.
Junior Savannah Hooper (Leesburg, OH/Wilmington) hit three three-pointers for nine points off the bench.
Wilmington (4-1 overall, 1-0 OAC) travels to #20 Ohio Northern (6-0, 1-0 OAC) 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
