Posted: Feb 05, 2020
WILMINGTON, Ohio – Otterbein University pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat the Wilmington College women's basketball team 77-65 and earn an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) series split on Wednesday evening.
The first half was played at the Cardinals' pace as Otterbein entered the game allowed less than 60 points per game. The visitors led the majority of the first quarter including by as many as eight (12-4) at the 3:29 mark. The Quakers, who had made just a single field goal up until that point, caught fire as Kelly Noll made two triples with a McKayla Binkley layup sandwiched in between to tie the game. A Zahrya Bailey steal at mid-court and score gave Wilmington its first lead of the game at 14-12 with 1:56 to play in the first quarter.
Otterbein ended the quarter on a 5-1 to take a bucket lead. The first three minutes of the second quarter saw neither team led by more than a possession until the Cardinals scored eight straight points to build a 27-20 edge. A Kennedy Lewis field goal ended the half with Wilmington trailing 30-26.
An Abbie Scholz layup to open the third quarter gave the Cardinals a six-point advantage, but an 8-2 Quakers' run capped by a Noll jumper tied the game 34-34. The two squads were knotted throughout the rest of the third quarter as a Scholz layup put Otterbein up 48-46 after 30 minutes.
Otterbein maintained a single-possession advantage for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. A Hannah Binkley basket with 6:28 remaining made the score 56-53, but a 10-3 spurt from the visitors put the game away.
Wilmington finished 23-of-67 (34.3 percent) from the field, 7-of-29 (24.1 percent) from distance and 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) from the free throw line. Otterbein countered with a 25-of-59 (42.4 percent) performance from the field, 4-of-9 (44.4 percent) from beyond the arc and 23-of-30 (76.7 percent) from the free throw line. The Cardinals also won the rebounding battle 44-41.
Scholz tallied a double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds to lead Otterbein while Jenna Hoschouer, Bryn Mangord and Abby Zerkle also scored in double figures.
Noll led Wilmington with 17 points and nine rebounds while McKayla Binkley added 15 points and four assists. Lewis added a dozen while Bailey had six points and six rebounds off the bench.
The Quakers (9-11, 5-8 OAC) head to nationally-ranked Baldwin Wallace University on Saturday.
