WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College women's basketball teamopens Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play at Baldwin Wallace University on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off from Ursprung Gymnasium is slated for 4 p.m.
The Teams: Wilmington and Baldwin Wallace (BW). The Quakers enter the game with a 5-1 recording having most recently beaten Maryville University (Tennessee) 54-39 at the Pat Deacon Classic hosted by Transylvania University last weekend. The Yellow Jackets are a perfect 6-0 and 1-0 in OAC contests after a 54-41 conference-opening win over Heidelberg University on Wednesday.
The Coaches: Wilmington is under the direction of third-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. Cheri Harrer, the veteran amongst OAC coaches, is in her 33rd season as BW's head coach. She's led the Yellow Jackets to over 600 victories and 16 appearances in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament.
The Players: Senior point guard Kennedy Lewis leads Wilmington in scoring at 12.8 points per game and assists at 3.7 per contest and is one of two Quakers to grab over five rebounds a contest. Zahrya Bailey, Marisa Seiler and Kryia Walker all score over six points a contest with Seiler leading the squad in rebounding at 5.5 boards per game. Emily Irwin and Bella Vailliant score in double figures for BW with Irwin leading the team at 12.0 points per game. Vailiant, once named the OAC Player of the Week, grabs eight rebounds a contest.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game – Wilmington 61.2, BW 67.5; opponents' points per game – Wilmington 55.7, BW 50.7; field goal percentage – Wilmington 33.1, BW 39.2; three-point percentage – Wilmington 22.7, BW 32.7; free throw percentage – Wilmington 80.9, BW 73.4; rebounding margin – Wilmington +3.2, BW 9.2; assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 0.71, BW 0.74.
D3Hoops.com Top 25 Poll: Baldwin Wallace checks in at No. 10 in the most recent D3Hoops.com Top 25 Poll.
Recent History: Wilmington is 17-34 against BW since joining NCAA Division III prior to the 1990-91 season. The Yellow Jackets has won the previous eight meetings. More information can be viewed by visiting the link above.
Coverage: Live statistics and live video 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 faces another OAC road test on Wednesday, in Ada against Ohio Northern University.
