WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College women's basketball team opens the final week of the regular season with Otterbein University at home on Wednesday. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
The Teams: Wilmington and Otterbein. The Quakers enter the game 13-10 overall and 7-9 in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) games after a 64-52 defeat at Marietta College on Saturday. The Cardinals stand at 14-9 on the season and are 10-6 in conference games having most recently handled Heidelberg University 64-26 on the road on Saturday.
The Coaches: Wilmington is under the direction of third-year Head Coach Janel Blankespoor, who is in her fifth 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. Diana Noles, a 2004 Otterbein alumnus, is in her third season as head coach at her alma mater. She is a member of the Otterbein's Hall of Fame for her time as a player.
The Players: A quartet of Quakers - Kennedy Lewis, Jada Pohlen, Zahrya Bailey, Marisa Seiler - score over eight points a game with Lewis leading the way in scoring (11.8 PPG) and assists (3.0 APG) with Seiler grabbing a team-high 5.7 boards per game. Pohlen has scored 11.5 points per game in conference contests while Bailey has had two 20-point performances this calendar year. Katie McCrary, who returned from an injury two weeks ago, leads Otterbein in scoring at 15.2 points per game while Kathleen DeCarlo scores 10.6 per game and leads the Cardinals in rebounding (7.4 RPG). Jenna Hoschouer and Olivia Majors both chip in at least 8.5 points per game.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game – Wilmington 61.0, Otterbein 61.5; opponents' points per game – Wilmington 58.0, Otterbein 59.8; field goal percentage – Wilmington 36.8, Otterbein 39.1; three-point percentage – Wilmington 25.7, Otterbein 31.4; free throw percentage – Wilmington 71.8, Otterbein 67.0; rebounding margin – Wilmington +0.3, Otterbein -2.2; assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 0.72, Otterbein 0.80.
Coaching Connection: Blankespoor (Iden) and Noles (Esterkamp) were teammates for a season at Otterbein. That year, the Cardinals were coincidentally the last team to defeat Wilmington before the Quakers won the 2004 national championship.
Recent History: Wilmington is 25-23 against Otterbein since the 1997 season. The Cardinals have won the last six meetings including a 68-62 win in Westerville earlier this season. More information can be viewed by visiting the link above.
Tickets: Hometown Ticketing will be used for the game. Fans are encouraged to purchase digital tickets prior to game time at the pink 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 finishes its 2022-23 regular season by hosting John Carroll University on Saturday. The game is slated to begin at 4 p.m.
