WILMINGTON, Ohio - Otterbein University edged the Wilmington College women's basketball team 65-57 in an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) contest at Fred Raizk Arena on Wednesday evening.
The Cardinals took an early leads as the visitors shot 9-of-18 in the first quarter and ended the period with a baseline three-pointer from Maizie King to lead 22-13 after 10 minutes. The Quakers seemed to settle down defensively as the game went on and began to chip away at the deficit. A Kyria Walker three-pointer, which proved to be the host's only long-distance make of the game, opened the quarter, and WC pulled within a possession on four straight points from Jada Pohlen to make the score 24-22 with 3:40 to play. Otterbein, which was held to just four points in the entire quarter, held on for a 26-22 lead at the intermission.
The third quarter took the longest in actual time as Otterbein committed 11 fouls which results in Wilmington going 11-of-17 from the charity stripe. The Quakers took a 41-39 lead on a Cassidy Lovett free throw, but a Jenna Hoschouer basket sent the two sides to their respective benches tied 41-41.
The visitors scored a quick six points in 90 seconds to open the fourth quarter, forcing a timeout from WC Head Coach Janel Blankespoor. The Quakers responded by scoring four straight points and had multiple possessions to tie or take the lead, but couldn't. Katie McCrary iced the game with seven free throws in the final minutes.
Wilmington outrebouded Otterbein 42-41 and made 24-of-33 (72.7 percent) from the free throw line and held the Cardinals to just 2-of-6 from the charity stripe through the first 30 minutes, but couldn't overcome a poor shooting night that saw the Quakers convert 16-of-57 (28.1 percent) while the visitors made 23-of-60 (38.3 percent) including a 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) night from distance.
McCrary led all scorers with 16 points while DeCarlo had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double. King rounded out the double-figure scorers for Otterbein with 10 points. Zahrya Bailey led WC with 13 points while Lewis missed a double-double by a single rebound with 10 points and nine boards JaKaia Lotz played perhaps her best collegiate game, scoring 10 points and grabbing eight rebounds with four steals.
Wilmington (13-11, 7-10 OAC) closes out the regular season against John Carroll University on Saturday. Tip-off from the Senior Day contest is scheduled for 4 p.m.
