WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College women's basketball team will step into a rare non-conference game in January when the Fightin' Quakers head to Transylvania University on Wednesday evening. Tip-off from the Beck Center is slated for 7 p.m.
How This Game Happened: Wilmington's regularly-scheduled Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) contest at Muskingum University was declared a no-contest due to the league's COVID-19 protocols. Transylvania hasn't competed in a game for three weeks due to four games being canceled.
The Teams: Wilmington and Transylvania. The Fightin' Quakers are 5-7 on the season having recently fallen to nationally-ranked Marietta College 68-46 on Saturday. The Pioneers (of Transyvania, not Marietta) are 10-0 with their last contest being a 78-38 triumph over Capital University on Dec. 21, 2021.
The Coaches: Wilmington is under the direction of second-year Head Coach Janel Blankespoor, who is in her fourth season with the program having been interim coach during the 2020-21 season and the program's top assistant the two years prior. The 2007 Otterbein College alumna spent stints at Mount Union and Earlham College before coming to Wilmington. Currently, Cassie Lastivka is leading the team with Blankespoor on maternity leave. Juli Fulks, a graduate of Capital, is in her eighth season as Tranyslvania's head coach. She's led the Pioneers to over 150 victories in less than 200 games during her tenure in Lexington.
The Players: A trio of Quakers - Zahrya Bailey, Kenzie Campbell and Kennedy Lewis - score over eight points per game with Bailey leading the bunch at 9.8 per contest. Bailey and Lewis are also the team's leading rebounders as the pair of guards combine for 10 boards per 40 minutes, with Lewis assisting on over three field goals per game. A quartet of Pioneers - Madison Kellione, Kennedi Stacey, Laken Ball and Dasia Thornton - score in double figures with Kellione's 18.2 points per contest leading the way. The other three grab at least six rebounds a game.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game – Wilmington 61.0, Transylvania 75.3; opponents' points per game – Wilmington 62.7, Transylvania 53.3; field goal percentage – Wilmington 37.8, Transylvania 43.2; three-point percentage – Wilmington 27.9, Transylvania 32.2; free throw percentage – Wilmington 62.1, Transylvania 67.3; rebounding margin – Wilmington +0.3, Transylvania +9.9; assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 0.71, Transylvania 1.00.
Top 25: Transylvania checks in at No. 4 in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll.
Recent History: Wilmington is 2-1 against Transylvania since the 2006 season. The Pioneers won the last matchup - 79-75 at the Beck Center on Nov. 16, 2010. More information can be viewed by visiting the link above.
Coverage: Live statistics and live video of the game will be available – visit the links above.
Social Media: Wilmington athletics is represented on Facebook (Wilmington College Athletics), Twitter (@DubCQuakers) and Instagram (@DubCQuakers). Follow all the happenings of Wilmington College on social media by using the hashtag "#WeAreDubC".
Up Next: Wilmington returns to OAC competition against No. 12 John Carroll University on Saturday.
