WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College women's basketball team rounds out the 2021 calendar year with a trip of Ohio Wesleyan University for the Hoops for Hope Classic on Dec. 29-30.
The Schedule: The Fightin' Quakers will face host Ohio Wesleyan at 6 p.m. on Wednesday and will play Mount Aloysius (Pennslyvania) at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
The Teams: Wilmington, Ohio Wesleyan and Mount Aloysius. The Quakers enter the classic with a 4-5 overall record and looking to snap a three-game losing skid. The Battling Bishops are 7-3 having defeated two Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC) schools most recently while the Mounties are 2-7 on the season.
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. The 2007 Otterbein College alumna spent stints at Mount Union and Earlham College before coming to Wilmington. Stacey Ungashick Lobdell is in her 11th season as OWU's head coach while Brian Giesler is in his fourth season as Mount Aloysius's head coach.
The Players: Zahrya Bailey leads Wilmington in scoring at 11.4 points per game while both Kenzie Campbell and Kennedy Lewis score at least eight points per contest. Lewis is the team's leader in rebounds (5.4) and assists (2.6) while Haley Cook also assists on at least two baskets per contest. OWU is led by Cierra Joiner and Kasey Shipfer who both score in double figures and combine to score over 26 points and grab over 14 rebounds per game. Carly Stiggers averages an even 10 points per game to lead Mount Aloysius.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game – Wilmington 64.6, OWU 63.8, Mount Aloysius 50.8; opponents' points per game – Wilmington 65.3, OWU 56.8, Mount Aloysius 77.3; field goal percentage – Wilmington 40.4, OWU 40.5, Mount Aloysius 31.1; three-point percentage – Wilmington 32.2, OWU 31.3, Mount Aloysius 24.5; free throw percentage – Wilmington 63.5, OWU 65.0, Mount Aloysius 64.6; rebounding margin – Wilmington -2.6, OWU -0.8, Mount Aloysius -11.7; assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 0.77, OWU 0.80, Mount Aloysius 0.40.
Recent History: Wilmington, which hasn't played Mount Aloysius since becoming an NCAA Division III member in the early 1990s, is 5-3 against OWU during that stretch. More information can be viewed by visiting the link above.
Coverage: Live statistics and live video of both games 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 opens the New Year with a trip to Capital University on Jan. 5.
