MARIETTA, Ohio - Marietta College forced the Wilmington College women's basketball team into 29 turnovers in a 87-72 victory over the Fightin' Quakers in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) action on Saturday afternoon.
The Quakers trailed by just a point (11-10) midway through the first quarter, but Wilmington was held to just four points over the final five minutes of the Quakers while the Pioneers scored 14.
Marietta stretched its lead to 13 early in the second quarter, but free throws from Brooke Davis and a three-pointer from Kelly Noll got Wilmington within seven (34-27) at the 3:44 mark. The teams would trade baskets over the next four possessions, but Marietta took a 44-31 lead into the break thanks to a 6-0 spurt fueled by layups from Corrie Burkhardt.
McKayla Binkley and Emily Harman opened the second half with baskets to get the Marietta lead back into single digits, but the Pioneers scored on their next four possessions including a triple from Amisha Herd. The two free throws from Faith Teaford that followed made the score 55-39 midway through the third quarter.
Marietta threatened a 20-point lead for portions of the third quarter, but five straight points from Mackenzie Campbell to open the fourth quarter got Wilmington within eight points (66-58) with nine minutes to play. Unfortunately, the Quakers could not get closer as the Pioneers claimed just their fourth win over Wilmington in the last decade.
Both teams shot over 40 percent from the field, but the Pioneers made 11 more field goals than the Quakers including finishing 11-of-26 (42.3 percent) from distance compared to 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) for Wilmington. The Quakers did make 23-of-28 (82.1 percent) free throw attempts compared to just 10 made free throws for the Pioneers. Wilmington outrebounded Marietta 38-37.
Individually, Campbell and Binkley compared for 30 of Wilmington's points while Noll added 10 off the bench. Binkley led the squad in rebounds with eight and assists with three.
Brooke Borich led all scorers with 19 points for Marietta while Herd scored 17 points to go along with eight rebounds, seven assists and seven steals.
Wilmington (5-3, 2-2 OAC) will close out the calendar year with the Fred Raizk Memorial Tournament next week.
