In a normal season, the Muskingum Muskies wouldn't have qualified for the Ohio Athletic Conference postseason tournament. However, Baldwin-Wallace was ineligible to compete in the postseason and it allowed MU to claim the final spot.
They took full advantage of their opportunity by upsetting the fifth seeded Capital Crusaders Monday. Now Muskingum is Tuesday's opponent for the Wilmington College women's basketball team. The Lady Quakers won both meetings; a 76-65 home victory on December 5 and a 71-57 road win on January 23.
"We were fortunate to beat them twice," said WC head coach Jerry Scheve. "They were both tough games, and they been very competitive the last several years. They played well (in Monday's victory over Capital) and with a lot of emotion.
"They are a veteran team with a lot of juniors and seniors," he continued. "They take care of the ball and shoot it very well; two very important facets of the game."
Muskingum was able to win the game mostly without the services of the OAC's second-leading scorer, Hannah Nelson. Foul trouble limited her to just 21 minutes, and just nine points – seven of which came during a three-minute spurt in the second half before she fouled out. She is the lone Muskingum player averaging double digits with 17.5 points per game.
Junior Tori Jarrett hit four three-pointers in scoring a team-high 17 points in the 60-58 upset of Capital.
Since the last time the two teams have met, the Muskies have made a change in the starting lineup. Senior Bridgette Neighbors is now starting over freshman Karen Sidwell, who averaged 10 points in the two games. Jendy Weppler is averaging 15.5 points against the Lady Quakers, while Nelson is scoring 14 points over the meetings.
Senior LeAnn Topp (New Bremen, OH/New Bremen) is the only player to score double figures in both Muskingum games, but she has struggled in the two games since returning from injury. Four other players – senior Brianna Peters (Alexandria, KY/Campbell County), junior Bethany Ahrens (Versailles, OH/Versailles), sophomore Courtney Tucker (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore) and sophomore Spencer Robles (Clyde, OH/Clyde) – scored at least 10 points in one of the two matchups.
Seniors Bria Eslick (Cleveland Heights, OH/Lutheran East) and Peters have been the offensive focal points for the Wilmington offense in the last three weeks.