BEXLEY – For the second time in as many meetings, Wilmington watched a double-figure lead disappear, but made enough plays down the stretch to record a 66-60 victory over Capital Wednesday at the Capital Center in Ohio Athletic Conference action.

One possession after Capital took the lead with a 15-4 run; senior Shelby Kies (Maineville, OH/Kings) drilled a three-pointer from the foul line extended to give Wilmington a lead they would relinquish. The opportunity came as senior Bria Eslick (Cleveland Heights, OH/Lutheran East) hauled in an offensive rebound.

The Lady Quakers, who got a quality initial shot on the possession, was able to set the play up as Capital took a timeout immediately after taking the lead.

"It was a good opportunity to tell the kids all we had to do was win a three-minute game, none of the other stuff mattered, and that is what we did," said head coach Jerry Scheve. Capital is a good team and they made some shots. I told the team they would make a run. But, ultimately in a close game, you have to have players that make plays. We had the players that wanted to step up and earned the win."

Junior Haley Howard (Uhrichsville, OH/New Philadelphia) hit five of six from the free throw line and sophomore Courtney Tucker (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore) added two made free throws as the Lady Quakers sealed the win.

With Mount Union's loss Wednesday, Wilmington pulled to within one game of second place and the double bye in the conference tournament that comes with the lofty perch.

For the first time in recent history, the Lady Quakers went away from their vaunted man defense and sat in a zone for most of the game. The defensive adjustment had its desired effect.

"I thought it was our best chance to win the game," said Scheve. "For our first time playing it, I was happy with how we played it."

The Crusaders shot just 31.6 percent from the field and 30 percent from the three-points in the loss. Capital was just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first half. Additionally, it helped limit the effectiveness of second-leading scorer Jamie Caton. The forward scored just seven points with one rebound in Wilmington's win.

Wilmington went to the bench early, and reserves Eslick and freshman Kirsten Glick (Arcadia, OH/Arcadia) responded. Eslick scored 15 of her season-high 17 points in the first half, while Glick finished with five points and five rebounds in her first extended appearance of the season.

"I thought the two keys of the game were first, Kirsten Glick," said Scheve. "In her first appearance, she played like a veteran. Second, I thought Bria was the difference in the first half."

Howard finished the game with 10 points and four rebounds, while senior Brianna Peters (Alexandria, KY/Campbell County) added six points, a season-high 12 rebounds, a career-high four blocks and two assists. The four blocks were the most by any Wilmington player this season.

Wilmington (13-7 overall, 9-4 OAC) will host Baldwin-Wallace 3 p.m. Saturday in a White Out. The fans are encouraged to wear white in support of the Lady Quakers.