The Wilmington College women's basketball team scored the first five points of the game, and never trailed in snapping their three-game losing streak by beating Marietta Saturday, 64-52, in Ohio Athletic Conference action at Fred Raizk Arena in Hermann Court.
Five different players scored during Wilmington's 14-1 run, which was bookended by three-pointers by sophomore Courtney Tucker (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore) and junior Spencer Robles (Clyde, OH/Clyde), that enabled them to push its lead to 14 points.
"Basketball is a game of runs, and we had one that put us up 19-5," said head coach Jerry Scheve. "We didn't play well afterwards, but we played well enough to win."
Wilmington shot 40 percent from the field (14-of-35) and was perfect from the foul line (10-of-10) in the first half in securing the 12-point bulge at the break. In fact, the Lady Quakers made their first 16 free throws before senior Brianna Peters (Alexandria, KY/Campbell County) missed with 1:48 remaining in the game. WC finished the game 19-of-23 (82.6 percent) from the charity stripe.
Peters finished the game with a team-high 13 points and eight rebounds – five of which were on the offensive end. Tucker tallied a season-high nine points with seven rebounds, four on the offensive end.
"Courtney had a great first half," said Scheve. "I thought Bria Eslick has played good basketball lately. She is in a different role that she is accustomed to. She is not satisfied with the role, but she is doing an excellent job."
Eslick (Cleveland Heights, OH/Lutheran East) added six points and four rebounds in 15 minutes of action. Senior Shelby Kies (Maineville, OH/Kings) added nine points, while senior LeAnn Topp (New Bremen, OH/New Bremen) recorded seven points and a team-high nine rebounds.
The Lady Quakers dominated the glass, beating Marietta, 50-35, and moved to 10-2 this season when winning the battle of the boards. WC registered 19 offensive rebounds, leading to 12 second-chance points.
Wilmington (10-7 overall, 6-4 OAC) travels to New Concord, OH to face Muskingum 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Lady Quakers have lost back-to-back trips to Muskingum, including a 76-51 setback last season.
