WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College women's basketball team opens the 2021-22 year with a road trip down Interstate 71 to Mount St. Joseph University on Saturday. Due to other events on campus that day, tip-off is set for 10:30 a.m.
The Teams: Wilmington and Mount St. Joseph (MSJ). The Fightin' Quakers are looking to build on a 7-7 season that saw the team win an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament during a COVID-19-affected season. The Lions finished last year with a 7-3 record.
The Coaches: Wilmington is under the direction of second-year Head Coach Janel Blankespoor, who is in her fourth season with the program having been interim coach during the 2020-21 season and the program's top assistant the two years prior. Dan Benjamin, a 1993 MSJ graduate, is in his 10ths season as head coach at his alma mater. The HCAC Coach of the Year last season, Benjamin led the Lions the HCAC Tournament semifinals.
The Players: Wilmington will need to replace its top two scorers as the Binkley sisters left the program due to graduation. Two guards, Kennedy Lewis and Zahrya Bailey, averaged over seven points and two assists per game, return for their senior and junior seasons respectively. Haley Cook, the team's second-leading rebounder at 4.7 boards per game, looks to breakout for her sophomore season. Maddie Haberthy leads the MSJ returners as she averaged 24.2 points per game a season ago. Haberthy was listed as a preseason All-American by D3Hoops.com.
Tale of the Tape (2020-21 season): Points per game – Wilmington 71.0, MSJ 66.1; opponents' points per game – Wilmington 72.4, MSJ 64.4; field goal percentage – Wilmington 38.4, MSJ 37.1; three-point percentage – Wilmington 27.2, MSJ 35.9; free throw percentage – Wilmington 68.3, MSJ 67.7; rebounds per game – Wilmington 42.7, MSJ 36.6; assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 0.69, MSJ 0.80.
Recent History: Wilmington is 14-6 against MSJ since becoming an NCAA Division III member in the early 1990s. The Quakers have won the last 10 meetings. More information can be viewed by visiting the link above.
Coverage: Live statistics of the game will be available – visit the links above.
Social Media: Wilmington athletics is represented on Facebook (Wilmington College Athletics), Twitter (@DubCQuakers) and Instagram (@DubCQuakers). Follow all the happenings of Wilmington College on social media by using the hashtag "#WeAreDubC".
Up Next: Wilmington hosts the Fred Raizk Memorial Classic next weekend.
