After 16 winning seasons in 17 years, the Wilmington College women’s basketball program has slumped in last few seasons.
WC was 11-15 last season, and has just one winning season in the last four years.
Head coach Jerry Scheve and his squad will look to break that losing skein Friday night in the 28th edition of the Damon’s/Hampton Inn Tip-Off Tournament at Fred Raizk Arena.
Wilmington will face Miami University-Middletown 6 p.m. Friday with Denison meeting Anderson in the 8 p.m. nightcap.
The consolation game of the tournament is set for a 1 p.m. Saturday tipoff with the championship game beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Wilmington returns its top two leading scorers in McKayla Binkley and Kennedy Lewis. Binkley and her twin sister, Hannah, combined for more than 21 points a game last year while Lewis led the team in assists per game at 4.2.
Alison Schaefer led Denison with 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting in the season-opener for the Big Red while Zyah Beal chipped in 19 points.
A trio of Ravens – Payton Moore, Anna Ault and Lexi Dellinger – all scored in double figures.
Wilmington was picked to finish seventh in the Ohio Athletic Conference pre-season coaches poll. John Carroll, the defending OAC regular season and tournament champions, was selected to repeat as champions.
The Damon’s/Hampton Inn Tip-Off Tournament is the season-opener for the Fightin’ Quakers but Miami-Middletown brings a 1-2 record into the event.
Denison is 1-0 with an 84-77 win at Capital University. Anderson opened with a 59-49 loss at Ohio Northern University.
Scheve is in his 30th season as head coach of the Wilmington women’s basketball program. Scheve, who guided the Quakers to the NCAA Division III national championship in 2004, has amassed over 500 career victories.
David Hall is in his sixth season as Miami Middletown’s head coach while Sarah Lee has been Denison’s head coach for three decades. Lindsay Shade is entering her fourth season as Anderson’s head coach.
Since the 1990-91 season, Wilmington is 0-0 against Miami-Middletown, 2-0 against Anderson and 3-1 against Denison.
