Box Score

WESTERVILLE, OHIO – The Otterbein University women’s basketball team moved to 7-2 in Ohio Athletic Conference play with a 70-59 victory over Wilmington College Saturday in the Rike Center.

The win keeps Otterbein, 13-3 on the season, in a second-place tie with Ohio Northern University in the conference standings. The loss takes Wilmington to 9-7 overall and 4-5 against league opponents.

The Quakers scored the game’s first five points before the Cardinals quickly drew even behind five early points from senior Kristi Kotterman.

The contest remained a one-possession battle as the first half progressed, with Wilmington holding a 15-12 lead before Otterbein scored seven in a row to grab a 19-15 edge.

Otterbein progressively widened the lead, using the hot hand of Kotterman to open a 37-27 lead by halftime. Kotterman posted 19 first-half points, shooting 7 of 12 from the field and 4 of 6 from three-point range.

The Cardinals maintined the advantage over the first 11 minutes of the second frame, and bumped the lead to 52-38 after an elbow jumper from Bourke Kelley with 8:01 to play.

Wilmington temporarily cut the margin to eight after an old-fashioned three-point play from Brianna Peters with 5:14 remaining. Otterbein, however, would keep a safe distance in a sluggish back and forth pace down the stretch en route to the victory.

Kotterman finished with a game-best 24 points and now sits just 16 shy of passing Katy Miller (2006-10) for 10th on the program’s career scoring list.

The 24 points is the second most in a game this season for Kotterman, who posted 30 in the championship game of the Washington & Jefferson Tournament at the beginning of the season. She also tied for a game-high six rebounds.

Senior point guard Shea McCoy marked the only other Cardinal in double figures, scoring a few late fast-break baskets to post 18 points. She also had four assists.

Junior guard Allie Leopard turned in a solid all-round effort with six points, six rebounds, and a game-high five assists.

Brianna Peters paced the Wilmington attack with 15 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

Otterbein shot .377 from the field compared to .319 for Wilmington. The Quakers shot just 3 of 20 from three-point range.

The Cardinals have the middle of the coming week off before traveling to Alliance for a crucial showdown with 12th-ranked University of Mount Union. Top-off is slated for 3 p.m.

Otterbein handed Mount Union its only loss of the season with a 62-53 victory in Westerville on Dec. 3.