WILMINGTON, Ohio - The University of Mount Union scored in 11 consecutive possessions to close out the third quarter and held on to defeat the Wilmington College women's basketball team 72-69 in an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) game played at Fred Raizk Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The first half was very low-scoring as neither team shot over 33 percent from the field in either of the first two quarters. The entire half was played within a nine-point window as Wilmington's largest lead was 9-4 at the 3:40 mark of the first quarter and Mount Union's biggest advantage being four points (19-15) midway through the second quarter.
The two teams were tied 24-24 at halftime, but Mount Union's offense exploded in the third quarter. The Purple Raiders notched 32 points in the 10-minute period including scoring on 11 consecutive possessions to end the quarter.
Wilmington, which trailed 56-42 after three quarters, had its offensive come alive in the fourth quarter as the Quakers totaled 27 points in the session. A Mackenzie Campbell three-pointer with two-and-a-half minutes to play to cut the Mount Union lead to three (66-63). After consecutive stops, a Campbell layup pulled the hosts within one point with 42 seconds to play in regulation.
The Quakers were forced to foul, and after Anna Alkire made two free throws, Michelle Lee countered with a jumper off a pass from Hannah Binkley. Wilmington fouled again on the ensuring possession, and this time, Alkire only made one free throw. Campbell pushed the ball up court for the Quakers and tied the game 69-69 with a layup with 10 seconds to play.
Unfortunately for Wilmington, the Quakers fouled with the game tied and a Mount Union free throw gave the visitors a 70-69 edge with three seconds left, and the Purple Raiders forced a turnover on the next possession to seal the win.
"I thought this was the best game we played all year," Head Women's Basketball Coach Jerry Scheve said. "We put together what we are trying to do much better today. The comeback we made in the fourth quarter showed a lot of heart."
Wilmington held shot six percentage points better (40-34) than Mount Union from the field, but the Purple Raiders converted 10-of-28 (35.7 percent) from three-point range while holding a 47-36 rebounding edge.
Campbell led all scorers with 19 points to go along with seven rebounds. Savannah Hooper and Hannah Binkley both had 13 points while Emily Harman had six points and six rebounds.
Mount Union featured a balanced scoring attack as five players scored in double figures including Jaime Sanborn wth a team-high 13 points. Sarah Hessel, despite not scoring, grabbed 13 rebounds.
Wilmington (9-10, 4-8 OAC) travels to Muskingum University on Wednesday.
