WESTERVILLE, OH – After steady preparation to play against the Otterbein zone defense, the Wilmington College women's basketball team promptly shot the Cardinals out of the defense early in recording the 70-57 Ohio Athletic Conference victory at the Rike Center Wednesday.

Wilmington made its first five shots, four of which were three-pointers, racing out to a 15-4 advantage.

"It's by far our best start this year," said Wilmington head coach Jerry Scheve. "Otterbein came out in a some and we really shot them out of it right away. We worked hard in practice against the zone, and it paid off. Overall, I am happy with our great team effort. We got contributions from the entire roster."

The Fightin' Quakers pushed its lead to 22 points at the half, but had to hold off a late Otterbein charge to secure the victory. The Cardinals slowed clawed away at its deficit, and with 60 seconds remaining, the WC lead was just eight points.

However, Wilmington converted five of six from the free throw line down the stretch picking up the victory.

"You have to develop a killer instinct when you have the opponent down," said Scheve. "Otterbein made a nice comeback. They had a shooter get hot, and suddenly it's a game."

Senior Haley Howard (Uhrichsville, OH/New Philadelphia) and junior Spencer Robles (Clyde, OH/Clyde) scored 16 points each, combining to hit seven three-pointers. Twelve of the 13 players  that saw action found the scorebook for Wilmington.

Freshman Hannah Haeseker (Germantown, OH/Valley View) pulled down a career-high 10 boards, while Howard dished out a team-high four assists.

Wilmington (7-7 overall, 4-3 OAC) returns home to face Mount Union (8-6 overall, 2-5 OAC) 3 p.m. Saturday.