WESTERVILLE – With two starting members of the backcourt stuck in foul trouble, somebody needed to step up. That someone was sophomore Brittaney Jefferson.
Jefferson (Dayton, OH/Chaminade Julienne) scored 17 of her game-high 24 points in the second half as the Wilmington College women's basketball team came back from a nine-point second half deficit to beat Otterbein, 72-54, in Ohio Athletic Conference action at the Rike Center.
It was the second time this season Jefferson eclipsed the 20-point barrier. She added five steals and four rebounds for the Fightin' Quakers.
"We had a lot of foul trouble in the second half, and Brittaney really stepped up for us," said Wilmington head coach Jerry Scheve. "Obviously, she knocked down some shots, but she was also very good on the defensive end. She has great defensive instincts and she combined those instincts to play defense the way we want to play."
Otterbein scored the first nine points of the second half to take it largest lead of the game. Enter Jefferson, exit Otterbein's momentum.
The guard scored 12 of Wilmington's next 19 points as the Fightin' Quakers pushed its lead to seven. WC's lead was four when Jefferson finally went to the bench. Even with Jefferson on the bench, the tone – offensively and defensively – had been set. Wilmington pushed its lead to double figures and never turned back.
All 19 of the game-changing points were scored by the Wilmington reserves and they outscored their counterparts, 51-13.
"We came out flat in the second half, and our bench really picked us up tonight," said Scheve. "Ellie (Kivell), Emily (Smith), Savannah (Hooper) and Brittaney were big for us. They knocked some shots down in the second half."
Kivell (Hamilton, OH/Hamilton), who scored 14 points in the first meeting, came off the bench for 15 points – including going 9-for-9 from the foul line.
The Fightin' Quakers could consider themselves happy to be tied at halftime as the trailed by seven with less than two minutes remaining, and needed a timeout to stem the tide. The breather worked as Wilmington scored nine of the final 11 points of the half. Kivell tallied six of those eight points, including the equalizer with six seconds remaining.
Senior Courtney Tucker (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore) added 11 points and six rebounds. Senior Kirsten Glick (Arcadia, OH/Arcadia), who defense on Otterbein's leading scorer was critical to the victory, pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
Wilmington (13-9 overall, 8-7 OAC) hosts Baldwin Wallace 3 p.m. Saturday in OAC action. The Yellow Jackets claimed the first meeting, 55-29, on December 20.