ADA, Ohio – The Wilmington College women's basketball team saw its 2017-18 season come to a close with a 76-60 loss to Ohio Northern University (ONU) in an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament quarterfinal round game on Tuesday evening.
The Fightin' Quakers hit their first three shots including two three-pointers from Kelly Noll. After both teams failed to score on their next two possessions, a Savannah Hooper layup gave Wilmington a 10-6 edge at the 6:39 mark of the first quarter. The Polar Bears answered, however, ending the quarter on a 15-2 run fueled by three triples.
Trailing 21-12 after 10 minutes, Wilmington would get within eight points at the 7:22 mark of the second quarter on another Noll three-pointer, but ONU would outscore the Quakers 18-6 in the quarter to lead 39-18 at halftime.
ONU, the OAC regular season champion and top seed in the tournament, looked to put the game away as a Courtney Cramer nailed a triple to open the third quarter, but Faith Teaford answered with an old-fashioned, three-point play on the ensuing possession. After one free throw from Amy Buillimore, consecutive three-pointers from Noll cut the Quakers' deficit to 16 points (43-27). Brooke Davis then gave Wilmington a lift off the bench, scoring nine points under two minutes. Her three-pointer at the 2:36 mark pulled the visitors within 11.
Both teams made two free throws on their next two possession, and a Hannah Binkley three-pointer with just over a minute to go in the third quarter made the score 55-45 in favor of Ohio Northern.
Unfortunately for Wilmington, the Quakers could not get closer as a 10-0 run for the Polar Bears that followed put the game out of reach.
ONU shot 27-of-62 (43.5 percent) from the floor as well as 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from beyond the three-point arc and 14-of-16 (87.5 percent) from the free throw line. Wilmington finished the game 19-of-54 (35.2 percent) from the field along with 11-of-32 (34.4 percent) from distance and 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) from the charity stripe. The 11 triples are the most the Quakers made this season.
Noll led the Quakers in scoring with a career-high 17 points while also grabbing five rebounds. Brooke Davis, who also had a career evening, scored 14 points in 24 minutes off the bench. Mackenzie Campbell, Wilmington's leading scorer, flirted with a triple-double as she concluded her junior campaign with eight points, nine assists and six rebounds. Emily Harman, the team's lone senior, scored four points and grabbed five rebounds to close out her Quaker career.
"We did some nice things tonight, but could not hit a shot in the second quarter," Head Women's Basketball Coach Jerry Scheve said. "Mackenzie [Campbell] did a great job finiding open players, and Kelly [Noll] and Brooke [Davis] knocked down open shots."
Four Polar Bears finished in double figures including Lindsey Black with 17 points and four assists. Bullimore added 11 points and seven rebounds.
Wilmington concludes its season with an 11-15 overall record to go along with its 18th consecutive appearance in the OAC Tournament.
