WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College women's basketball team held a 44-6 edge in points in the paint and erased a double-digit, second-quarter deficit to defeat Heidelberg University 78-52 in an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) contest at Fred Raizk Arena on Saturday afternoon.
After one quarter saw the Student Princes, who were looking to sweep the season series courtesy of a 62-52 win in Tiffin late in the 2021 calendar year, led by a slim 14-13 margin, Lily Sweeney and Marissa Thomas continued to hit from beyond the three-point arc to begin the second quarter. Thomas, who entered the contest shooting 13 percent from distance, nailed her third triple in three tries midway through the second quarter to push the visitor's lead to double digits at 27-17.
Determined not to suffer the same fate, Wilmington's defense cracked down and didn't allow a point, thanks in part to forcing three consecutive turnovers, didn't allow a point the rest of the half. Brooke Davis helped get the lid off the basket with two of her four triples and Kenzie Campbell took an inbounds pass from the baseline from Kennedy Lewis and broke a 27-27 deadlock in the final seconds of the second quarter.
Wilmington, which had struggled coming out of halftime this season, didn't let the 15-minute break stop its momentum. The Quakers put together perhaps their best quarter of the entire season, outscoring the Student Prices 28-10 and shooting 10-of-18 (55.6 percent) from the field. A Campbell layup to open the final quarter put the hosts on top 60-37 and finished a 43-10 run that spanned over 15 minutes. WC would not trail by less than 20 the rest of the game.
The Quakers finished the game 30-of-65 (46.2 percent) from the field to go along with six triples (33.3 percent) and a 12-of-16 (75.0 percent) performance at the free throw line. Wilmington also won the battle of the boards 44-34. The Student Princes went 17-of-56 (30.4 percent) from the field with nine triples.
Individually, Lily Sweeney led all scorers with 19 points while Thomas added 14 for Heidelberg in defeat. For Wilmington, Lewis finished with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting with five assists while Davis and Cassidy Lovett also scored in double figures. Campbell missed a double-double by a single point with a 10-rebound performance. Jaylah Capital had eight points, six rebounds and drew five fouls in nearly 20 minutes off the bench.
Wilmington continues OAC play by hosting Capital University on Wednesday.
