Quakers Overcome Staggering 'Berg Defense

The Heidelberg women’s basketball team cut a second half 21-point deficit to three with staggering full court pressure, but could never fully take over the scoreboard in a 75-69 setback to Wilmington College today, January 24, in Seiberling Gymnasium, on the campus of Heidelberg.
 
Following the contest, Heidelberg stands at 4-13 overall and 1-9 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while the Quakers improve to 13-4, 6-4.
 
Heidelberg found itself down 47-26 just two minutes into the second half. Stacey Barker (Grove City, Ohio / Grove City) and Brittany Skolnicki (Lorain, Ohio / Clearview) each hit two treys apiece to pull the Berg within single digits at 48-40, with 14:41 on the clock. Both teams traded baskets before Skolnicki hit a jumper to keep the Quaker’s lead to single digits for the remainder of the contest.
 
Sarah Kesse (Cincinnati, Ohio / Colerain) hit three free throws in two trips down the floor to bring the Berg within three, 64-61, with just over five minutes remaining in the game. Wilmington answered with an 8-2 run, but Heidelberg’s defense held the Quakers to no field goals over the final two minutes. Heidelberg got as close as five points with 12 seconds remaining following a three-pointer apiece from Barker and Morgan Harrigan (Urbana, Ohio / Urbana), but could not pull out the win.
 
Wilmington scored first in the contest and ballooned its lead to 12, 16-4, just under five minutes into the game. The Berg battled back to cut its deficit to one on two occasions, but the Quakers responded on the other end each time and extended its lead to 15 at the break, 39-24.
 
The Berg forced the Quakers into 19 turnovers on the day, picking up 10 steals in the process. Harrigan lead the way with five steals, while Lyndsey DaVault (Orrville, Ohio / Orrville) pocketed three.
 
Both teams connected on 25 field goals, with the Quakers hitting 42.4 percent of its attempts compared to the Berg’s 36.8 clip. Of their 25 field goals, Wilmington had 10 three-pointers and Heidelberg sank nine. Wilmington shot 22 free throws, connecting on 15 to provide a difference over the Berg, who shot just 13 from the charity stripe, sinking 10. On the glass, Wilmington held a slim 41-38 advantage.
 
Heidelberg finished with three players in double figures led by Skolnicki’s 13 points. Skolncki also led the way with five assists. Barker finished with four treys, good enough for 12 points, while Harrigan added 10 points. Jenny Miller (Tiffin, Ohio / Clyde) came off the bench to haul in a team-leading eight rebounds and scored eight points. Betsy Shrider (Mount Blanchard, Ohio / Riverdale) backed Miller’s effort with eight points and three rebounds of her own. Shrider also blocked three shots, while Miller turned away two. Not to be outdone, Miller also dished out four assists from the low post.
 
Leading Wilmington was Kortney Kinn with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Also registering a double-double for the visitors was Marianne McGoron with 11 assists and 10 points.