TIFFIN, Ohio—The Heidelberg University women’s basketball team will begin the second half of the Ohio Athletic Conference schedule Saturday, Jan. 21 when it faces Wilmington College at Fred Raizk Arena in Wilmington, Ohio. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m.
Live audio and stats for the contest will be available at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/wilmington.portal#.
Heidelberg (4-12, 1-8 OAC) is coming off a narrow 62-57 loss Wednesday to Capital University, a game in which it trailed by 18 points with just under 11 minutes to play before storming back in a comeback attempt. Sophomore guard Megan Miller (Tiffin/Columbian) led the ‘Berg with 14 points and a season-high 13 rebounds, her first double-double of the season. Sophomore guard Kathleen Phillips (Sandusky/St. Mary’s) matched Miller with 14 points and sophomore guard Emily Giel (Burton/Burkshire) added nine points, all in the first half.
Phillips leads the Berg with an OAC-best 18.4 points per game. She is also fifth with an 82.1 (69-of-84) free throw percentage and tied for eighth with 31 steals. Miller tallies 8.9 ppg. and leads the team with 4.9 rebounds per game. Giel scores 7.3 ppg., has passed for a team-high 29 assists and shoots a team-best 31.7 percent (26-of-82) from three point range. As a team, Heidelberg scores 61.2 ppg., shoots 34.1 percent from the field and averages 36.5 rpg. The Berg also averages 5.6 three-pointers per game, good for second in the OAC.
Wilmington (9-7, 4-5 OAC) sits in a three-way tie for fifth place in the league standings after dropping three consecutive games, including a 70-59 setback last Saturday at Otterbein University. Despite the loss, three Quakers scored in double figures, led by Brianna Peters’ 15-point and 15-rebound double-double, 13 points from Makenzie Wippel and 10 points from Darcie Zirkle.
Wippel tallies a team-high 11.1 ppg. Peters averages 9.8 ppg., is eighth in the OAC with a 47.1 (65-of-138) shooting percentage and tied for fifth with 15 blocks. Bria Eslick scores 8.5 ppg. and is ninth in the league from the charity stripe with a 77.6 (38-of-49) free throw percentage. Wippel (7.2 rpg.), Eslick (6.8 rpg.) and Peters (6.1 rpg.) stand seventh, ninth and 10th in the OAC in rebounding, respectively. The Quakers score 62.1 ppg. and lead the circuit with 46.4 rpg. while shooting 36.4 percent from the field and 70.0 percent from the free throw line.
In the last meeting between the two teams on Dec. 3, Shelby Kies and Wippel each tallied 12 points and Wilmington outrebounded the Berg, 57-32, on its way to a 67-54 victory. Phillips had a team-high 11 points for Heidelberg, followed by freshman guard Paige Ricketts (Mineral City/Tusky Valley) with eight points and Giel and junior forward Molly Schriber (Sidney) with seven markers each. Wilmington has won each of the last 10 meetings between the two schools.
Following Saturday’ contest, the Berg will return home to face Baldwin-Wallace College on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Wilmington (9-7, 4-5 OAC)
Name—GP-GS—Key Stats
Makenzie Wippel—16-12—11.1 ppg., 7.2 rpg., 77.5 FT%
Brianna Peters—16-16—9.8 ppg., 6.1 rpg., 47.1 FG%, 15 blk.
Bria Eslick—16-16—8.5 ppg., 6.8 rpg., 77.6 FT%, 27 stl.
Shelby Kies—16-15—7.4 ppg., 50 ast.
LeAnn Topp—16-16—5.8 ppg., 6.0 rpg., 81.8 FT%
Heidelberg (4-12, 1-8 OAC)
Name—GP-GS—Key Stats
Kathleen Phillips—15-15—18.4 ppg., 3.5 rpg., 36.9 FG%, 82.1 FT%
Megan Miller—16-15—8.9 ppg., 4.9 rpg., 11 blk.
Emily Giel—16-15—7.3 ppg., 31.7 3FG%, 29 ast.
Jordan Ickes—16-15—6.6 ppg., 38.2 FG%, 23 ast.
Jazmine Shaw—16-6—2.1 ppg., 2.3 rpg.