The Wilmington College women's basketball team returns home 3 p.m. Saturday to face a Mount Union team that has been up and down all season long.
After starting the season with five straight wins, the Purple Raiders dropped five consecutive games, and has currently won three of the last four games.
"I think they are playing their best ball of the year in the last couple of games," said Wilmington head coach Jerry Scheve. "They had a big win over Capital and a nice road win over Marietta, so they present a lot of challenges. They have a lot of shooters, and are going to shoot a multitude of three's. They shoot them early in transition and we have to do a good job of finding players in transition. They run some great motion offense with a lot of screening, and we are going to have to do a great job of communicating defensively."
Sophomore Annie Bova leads the team, and is ranked seventh in the Ohio Athletic Conference, with 13.6 points per game. She is the lone UMU player scoring in double figures. Sophomore Sarah Grippi leads the team in rebounding with 5.4 boards per game, and is second on the team with 8.1 points. She is third in the OAC, making 58.7 percent of her shots.
Mount Union has played a lot of players this season with 12 players averaging more than nine minutes per game, and no player getting more than 22 minutes.
"More than preparing to stop players, we have to stop the system," said Scheve. "Bova is one of the top leading scorer in points per minute in the league. They have a multitude of weapons beside her. They have been playing a lot of people all year with the intent on finding out who could get it done for them."
Wilmington has picked up its offense lately, mainly due to its ability to get out in transition. The increase in tempo has allowed the Fightin' Quakers to win three of their last four games.
"We have certainly improved our transition game recently," said Scheve. "The only time I would know if we are consistent is when we are consistent. We are getting better. I think the coaches and the players have made more of a commitment to running."
