WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College women's basketball team opens the postseason with a trip to Otterbein University on Tuesday evening. Tip-off for the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament quarterfinal is slated for 7 p.m. from the Rike Center.
The Teams: Wilmington and Otterbein. The Quakers, the No. 5 seed for the tournament, finished the regular season 14-11 overall and 8-10 in conference games after a 70-61 victory over John Carroll University on Saturday. The Cardinals, the No. 4 seed, completed the regular season 16-9 overall and 12-6 in OAC contests. Otterbein has won its last five games including a 70-55 win at the University of Mount Union 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 trio of Quakers - Kennedy Lewis, Jada Pohlen and Zahrya Bailey - all score over nine points per game with Lewis leading the way at 11.8 per game. The fifth-year senior also leads the team in assists (2.9 per game) and is joined by Marisa Seiler in grabbing over five rebounds per contest. Cassidy Lovett is third in the OAC with nearly two steals per game. Katie McCrary scores 14.9 points per game for Otterbein while Kathleen DeCarlo, who also scores in double figures, leads the Cardinals in rebounding at 7.3 per game.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game – Wilmington 61.2, Otterbein 62.0; opponents' points per game – Wilmington 58.4, Otterbein 59.5; field goal percentage – Wilmington 36.5, Otterbein 39.4; three-point percentage – Wilmington 25.1, Otterbein 31.9; free throw percentage – Wilmington 72.6, Otterbein 66.5; rebounding margin – Wilmington +0.8, Otterbein -1.7; assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 0.70, 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 25-24 against Otterbein since the 1997 season. The Cardinals have won the last seven meetings, Otterbein's longest winning streak in the series, including claiming both regular season meetings. More information can be viewed by visiting the link above.
OAC Tournament History: Wilmington is 27-18 as a program in the OAC Tournament having qualified for it every year in the conference (2000-01 to present). The Quakers are 10-12 in quarterfinals, 3-3 as the No. 5 seed and 2-1 against Otterbein in the postseason tournament. More information on the program's history in the OAC Tournament can be viewed at 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: The winner of the game will advance to the OAC Tournament semifinal at No. 1 Ohio Northern University on Thursday.
