Posted: Nov 22, 2019
WILMINGTON, Ohio - Franklin College came from eight points down in the final 3:37 to defeat the Wilmington College women's basketball team 78-76 with a game-winning jumper at the buzzer on Friday evening. The game was the first of the 14th annual Fred Raizk Memorial Tournament.
Neither team led by more than six points until a McKayla Binkley layup with 5:48 to play in regulation gave the Quakers a 67-59 advantage. The Grizzlies answered with a layup on the ensuing possession, but two minutes later, Kelis Jones found Maddie Snider, who scored to put the hosts back up 69-61. Bayleigh Walker scored on the visitors' next two possessions, and Kennedy Lewis answered with 1-of-2 free throws, making the score 70-65 with 2:29 to go.
Franklin, which had made just one triple in the first 37-plus minutes, would get hot from distance. More specifically, Britney Ballard, who hit a triple to cut the lead to two at the 2:08 mark. After two misses from Wilmington, Ballard hit again, giving the Grizziles a 71-70 lead with a minute to play. Erin Bradley gave Franklin a one-point lead, but McKayla Binkley answered, pushing the Quakers up 74-73 with 14 seconds left.
The Grizzlies went to the hot hand, and once again, Ballard delivered a triple from deep with six seconds left. After a timeout, McKayla Binkley was fouled with less than two seconds left, and camly hit both free throws to knot the game 76-76. Franklin, via a timeout, advanced the ball to near midcourt. With just 1.2 seconds to play, Ashlin Aycock lobbed a pass in to Walker, who went off glass for the game-winner to beat the buzzer.
Franklin (1-0) finished 30-of-70 (42.9 percent) from the field compared to 25-of-72 (34.7 percent) for Wilmington. The Quakers made two more triples (6-4) and converted 20-of-30 (66.7 percent) from the free throw line while the Grizzlies made 14-of-23 from the charity stripe. The hosts won the rebounding battle 50-46.
Individually, Ballard led all scorers with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting while Walker (14 points) and Bayleigh Torrance (12 points) also scored in double figures.
McKayla Binkley once again led Wilmington in scoring with 22 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Three other Quaker starters - Hannah Binkley (13 points), Kennedy Lewis (12 points) and Kelly Noll (12 points) - also scored in double figures. The host's other starter, Michelle Lee, grabbed a career-high eight rebounds.
Wilmington (1-1) will face Hiram College in the consolation final of the Fred Raizk Memorial Tournament at 1 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday). Albion College, which defeated Hiram 88-59, will face Franklin.
