WILMINGTON — The Wilmington College women’s basketball team clinched a berth Saturday in the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament by defeating John Carroll 70-61 on Senior Day at Fred Raizk Arena.
The Quakers earn the No. 5 seed for the upcoming OAC tournament and will face No. 4 Otterbein University in a quarterfinal 7 p.m. Tuesday evening.
“One of our season goals was to finish in the top half of the OAC and position us for tournament play,” WC head coach Janel Blankespoor said. “We are now in that position.”
Kennedy Lewis finished with 13 points and seven rebounds to lead Wilmington while Kyria Walker (12 points) and Jada Pohlen (11 points) also finished in double figures. Zahrya Bailey added eight points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals while JaKaia Lotz added eight points and seven rebounds.
Wilmington finishes its regular season with a 14-11 overall record and an 8-10 mark in OAC contests.
A 9-0 run gave John Carroll an 17-8 lead. Walker ended the quarter with a bucket, however, to keep the Quakers within seven at 17-10. The sophomore then opened the second quarter with basket and free throw, and two Emma Wright free throws followed to make it a one-score game.
John Carroll, which was looking to avenge a 66-51 defeat at the hands of Wilmington in University Heights earlier this season, again looked to pull away as the Blue Streaks pounded the ball into senior post Kaelyn Underwood and built a double-digit lead (29-19) with four minutes to play in the half. The Quakers answered with eight straight points before trailing 33-27 at the half.
Wilmington, which shot just 8-of-30 (26.7 percent) in the first half, connected on 8-of-16 (50.0 percent) from the floor in the second half, but still trailed 47-44 after 30 minutes.
Interestingly, neither team had made a single three-point basket in the first three quarters, but that was about to change. Pohlen nailed consecutive threes to flip a three-point deficit to a three-point lead, the Quakers’ first of the game. The Blue Streaks never led again. With the score 57-53 with 4:30 to play, Wilmington went on an 11-2 run that ended the game.
“We came out of halftime with grit, determination and played within ourselves on both ends in the second half,” said Blankespoor. “We played strong keeping them off the boards and knocking down free throws.”
The Quakers made 24-of-29 (82.8 percent) from the free throw line.
