(WILMINGTON, Ohio) - Wilmington's strong first half propels Quakers to an 82-59 win over Heidelberg.  
 

The Student Princes took a brief 2-1 lead in the first quarter before the Quakers took over the game. Sierra McCoin and Gabby Russell went back-to-back from deep to get Wilmington rolling. Russell hit another three and Stephanie Altstaetter had a layup to put the Quakers ahead 17-7. Jazz Johnson nailed a three with four minutes left in the first. Heidelberg cut the deficit to four with a minute to go, but Wilmington led 24-18 heading into the second quarter.  

Wilmington played a near perfect second quarter. Altstaetter drained a deep three to put the Quakers ahead by 10. The Quakers defense forced the Student Princes to struggle immensely. Heidelberg only scored seven points, shooting 2-11 from the field, and losing seven turnovers. A three pointer by Katie Dryer and buckets from Johnson kept Wilmington rolling. Ashton Harris had a jumper and the Quakers led 46-25 going into halftime.  

A steal by Harris led to a Russell free throw to put Wilmington ahead 50-25 to open the third quarter. Heidelberg regained momentum offensively, shooting 9-12 from the free throw line. The Student Princes scored 23 points in the third but the Quakers were step by step scoring 22. Another steal by Russell led to a Stephanie Gandy layup and Morgan Love had a steal on the next possession leading to a three pointer by Russell with under two minutes left. McCoin cashed in from deep with seconds to go as the Quakers led 68-48 at the end of the third quarter.  

Each team slowed down offensively in the fourth quarter. Wilmington remained in control of the score and possession, shooting 50% from the field in the final period. The Quakers' stout defense held Heidelberg to just 11 points and 26.7% field goal percentage. A layup by Taija Walker followed by a steal from Gandy secured Wilmington's conference victory over Heidelberg. 

Notables 

• Gabby Russell led Wilmington with 21 points. Russell shot 7-13 from the field and went 3-5 from three. She led the Quakers with eight rebounds and added four assists, two steals, and one block. 

• Stephanie Altstaetter scored 20 points, grabbing five rebounds and two steals.  

• Jazz Johnson had 15 points with seven boards. She shot 50% from the field. 

• Sierra McCoin scored 11 points, shooting 3-4 from deep.  

• Wilmington shot 47% from the field and held Heidelberg to just 34.6% shooting. 

• The Quakers shot 10-18 from beyond the arc while limiting the Student Princes to 1-18 from deep.  

• Wilmington forced 24 turnovers while only committing 13. The Quakers scored 29 points off of turnovers.  

• Wilmington trailed for only 15 seconds in the game. Their largest lead was 29.  

What's Up Next  

The Quakers will host the Ohio Northern Polar Bears next Wednesday at 7:00 P.M. in Hermann Court.