WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College women's basketball team claimed a Quaker Bowl Rivalry victory on Monday evening, defeating Earlham College 82-68 in a non-conference battle at Hermann Court.
"There were part of the game we were very good tonight, and there were parts where we weren't very good," Head Women's Basketball Coach Jerry Scheve said. "Our starters were very efficient from the field."
Wilmington led by just three points (16-13) after one quarter, but a 30-18 outburst in quarter two gave the hosts a comfortable halftime lead. In the second 10-minute session, the hosts shot 11-of-17 (64.7 percent) from the field, but despite the host shooting, the visitors found themselves trailing by just seven (38-31) with under two minutes to play in the half. Wilmington's defense ended the half strong with three steals, including consecutive steals from Hannah Rickman, led to transition layups that put the hosts ahead 46-31 at the break.
Wilmington outscored Earlham 21-13 in the third quarter and led by as many as 26 early in the fourth to earn the win.
Wilmington shot a team-best 51.7 percent (32-of-62) from the floor along with 6-of-17 from the distance and 12-of-17 from the free throw line. Earlham was held to 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the field and 0-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc. Despite winning the rebounding battle 41-29, Wilmington committed 28 fouls that led to 26 Earlham free throws. Both teams also committed at least 25 turnovers.
"If we are going to compete in the OAC [Ohio Athletic Conference], we can't turn the ball over 29 times and execute our offense better," said Scheve. "There's a lot to learn from tonight, but give credit to Earlham. They played hard and gave us some problems."
Individually, Kelly Noll poured in a career-high 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 4-of-5 from three-point range. The senior also had three steals and three rebounds. McKayla Binkley added 16 points, also on 6-of-7 shooting, while Lewis scored 10 points. Rickman scored seven points, dished out four assists and stole three passes while Ellen Nilback had nine rebounds.
Earlham was led by Camryn White (22 points) and Trinity McClendon (17 points) in defeat.
Wilmington (3-2) opens OAC play at Heidelberg University at 3 p.m. on Saturday.