WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College women's basketball team overcame a 13-point deficit by outscoring Grove City College 45-28 in the second half of a 77-65 victory on the first day of the Fred Raizk Memorial Tournament on Friday evening.
The Quakers had to hang around in the first quarter as the hosts turned the ball over nine times and committed eight fouls in the period. The Wolverines, who led 26-18 after the first quarter, stretched their advantage to 13 points when Hayley Fenchel's layup made the score 33-20 with 7:50 to play in the half.
After a timeout from Head Coach Janel Blankespoor, Kyria Walker hit two free throws, but a Grove City jump shot at the midway point of the quarter, put the visitors back up 13. Wilmington locked down defensively for the rest of the half, allowing just two points the rest of the way. During that stretch, the Quakers scored 12 points from four different individuals – Elise Carpenter, Zahrya Bailey, Kennedy Lewis and Jaylah Captain.
Trialing 37-32 at the break, Grove City didn't allow Wilmington to gain the lead in the third quarter, though the hosts got close as Jada Pohlen nailed one of her five triples with 3:16 to play to pull the Quakers withing two points at 50-48. A Clara Hannon basket looked to have the Wolverines on top 57-51 before a Carpenter triple was followed by a Lewis layup to end the period.
Wilmington put the game away with a 14-2 run over the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. Two free throws from Lewis capped the run, but consecutive triples from Pohlen right before that proved to be the dagger.
The Quakers, who only committed seven turnovers in the final 30 minutes, finished 22-of-68 (32.4 percent) for the game, but were an impressive 25-of-29 (86.2 percent) from the free throw line. The hosts lost the rebounding battle by a single board 46-45, but had 16 steals and forced 24 turnovers.
The Wolverines, who shot 38.5 percent from the field, made three more field goals, but only half as many triples (8-4) and converted just 11-of-20 (55.0 percent) from the free throw line.
Pohlen led all scorers with 19 points and five triples. Lewis added 16 points, six rebounds and four assists while Bailey added a dozen points with a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Carpenter added nine points and eight rebounds.
Wilmington (2-0) will face Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) in the championship team tomorrow (Saturday) at 3:15 p.m. Albion College, which lost to OWU 65-53, will play Grove City in the consolation game at 1 p.m.
