BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College women's basketball team held a 24-15 midway through the second quarter, but Wheaton College ended the half on a 19-7 run and outscored the Quakers 18-8 in the third to earn a 70-57 win in game one of the McDonald's Holiday Tournament hosted by Bluffton University this weekend.
Wilmington led 13-12 after 10 minutes and after a Thunder free throw opened the second quarter, the Quakers scored on 4-of-5 possessions including a layup and triple from Hannah Binkley.
Then came the Thunder run which totaled 43-22 and spanned 16:24. Consecutive baskets from McKayla Binkley to open the fourth quarter cut the Wheaton lead to single digits (52-43) with 8:16 to play and again in the final minute (64-55), but couldn't get closer.
McKayla Binkley led the Quakers with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Kelly Noll added eight points and four rebounds while Hannah Binkley scored seven. Kennedy Lewis, who dished out six assists, and Mackenzie Campbell, who appeared in her first game of the season, scored six points each. Faith Teaford turned in a nine-rebound performance.
The Thunder trio of Jennifer Berg (16), Hannah Frazier (15) and Kristi Demski (12) all scored in double figures for Wheaton.
Both teams shots 37 percent from the field along with 78 percent from the free throw line. The difference came from the beyond the three-point arc as the Thunder made 8-of-16 (50.0 percent) attempts compared to just 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) for the Quakers. Wheaton also won the rebounding battle 39-36 and used its length to block a dozen shots.
Wilmington (6-5) will face Waynesburg University (Pennsyvania) in the consolation final at noon tomorrow (Saturday).
