Photo by Matthew Butcher
Photo by Matthew Butcher
Photo by Matthew Butcher
Photo by Matthew Butcher
Photo by Matthew Butcher
Kyria Walker | John Swartzel Photo
Jada Pohlen | John Swartzel Photo
Marisa Seiler | John Swartzel Photo
Cassidy Lovett | John Swartzel Photo
WILMINGTON— Capital University outscored the Lady Quakers 23-5 in a disastrous second quarter that ended up being the catalyst for a 71-58 Wilmington loss Wednesday night at Fred Raizk Arena.
The two teams went into the OAC matchup with the same record. The loss brings Wilmington to 8-4 overall and 2-3 in the conference with a looming visit from Marietta Saturday afternoon.
Capital left town with the desired 9-3 cumulative record and a 3-2 mark in the conference. They will host OAC bottom feeder Mount Union Saturday.
The Quakers opened the game with a 9-1 run and finished the first quarter with an eight point, 21-13 lead. They found themselves leading 26-17 early in the second frame, before a scoring drought that lasted roughly eight minutes. All the while Capital scored 21 points, fueled by three consecutive Jenna Horsely connections from deep.
“We didn’t read the switching a lot. We didn’t take advantage of some of their mismatches. Some of our spacing issues, we were creeping and stuff. It was the little things that kept us from getting the right shot,” WC coach Janel Blankspoor said.
However, Wilmington made several necessary second-half shots that loudened their bench, but every bucket had a Capital answer — most notably a Bekah Bowser three-pointer early in the fourth to cut the lead to seven, only to be followed by a Bri O’Conner three for Capital. Bowser finished with nine points and O’Conner led all scorers with 20.
“It was a physical basketball game that didn’t play in our favor. It seemed to be to their advantage. We had 35 more shots; you hope you just make a third of those. That would be the difference in the game,” Blankspoor said.
Kennedy Lewis scored six of her 18 in a foul riddled first half that left her sidelined for a majority of the second period. Kyria Walker dropped eight points on three field goals and Jada Pohlen tallied seven; Marisa Sieler totaled six. Lovett, Bailey and Lotz also put themselves in the book.
Along with O’Conner, Samara Perkins and Laney Murphy scored 15 and 12, respectively, for the Comets.
Wilmington attempted a last-gasp, late run that was highlighted by a loud “play D” from one of their players, intentional fouling, and very few buckets; it was all in vain. They never cut the lead to fewer than six in the second half and lost by 13.
“We didn’t knock down our free throws. We’ve been around an 80 percent free throw shooting team and we barely shot 50 percent tonight; so that’s unacceptable as well,” Blankspoor said.
