WILMINGTON — Kennedy Lewis scored her 1,000th career point and poured in a game-high 17 points Wednesday as the Wilmington College women’s basketball team earned a 53-43 victory over Kenyon College at Fred Raizk Arena.
Wilmington overcame poor shooting (19-of-57) by winning the rebounding margin 38-32 as well as outscoring Kenyon 22-10 in fastbreak points and 20-12 in bench points. The hosts also came up 14 steals and committed 13 turnovers. The Owls were 14-of-42 (33.3 percent) in the game.
Lewis was the lone individual to score in double figures for either team, netting 15 of her game-high 17 in the second half.
Marisa Seiler added seven points and seven rebounds while Cassidy Lovett had four points, six rebounds and six steals.
Wilmington (4-0), which has won its first four games of the season for the first time in eight seasons, has a 10-day break before heading to the Pat Deacon Classic hosted by Transylvania University Nov. 26-27.
The Owls employed a zone defense the entire game and it paid off as the Quakers finished just 3-of-21 (14.3 percent) from beyond the three-point arc. Kenyon took a 14-6 lead, its largest of the game, on two Katie Orefice free throws at the 3:07 mark of the first quarter, but Wilmington scored the final seven points of the period on baskets from Zahrya Bailey, Jaylah Captain and Kyria Walker along with a Bailey free throw.
The second quarter was a forgettable one for both sides as just a dozen combined points were scored. A Lovett offensive putback and a three-pointer from Jada Pohlen at the 8:29 mark was all the host’s would score. The visitors scored the final seven points and took a 21-18 lead into halftime.
Nearly the entire third quarter was played within a single possession as neither team could separate. Lewis, who was held to just two points in the first half, became the 17th individual in program history to score 1,000 career points with a layup two minutes into the third. The basket was fitting of Lewis’s career to date as it was a coast-to-coast two-pointer. A three from the Springboro native three minutes later tied the game at 25-25.
WC scored the final five points of the quarter as Captain found Emma Wright under the basket for a layup and Bailey found Walker for two in transition. A Capital free throw sent the hosts up 36-30 after 30 minutes.
The Owls hung around, however, but Seiler put the game away as the freshman picked the pocket of a Kenyon guard and scored a layup in transition. After another Lovett steal, her sixth of the game, Walker found Seiler on the baseline for a triple that put WC up 47-38.
Kenyon answered with a three-pointer of its own, but the Quakers hit free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
