Box Score

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein women's basketball team dropped a 62-51 contest against second-place Wilmington on Wednesday night inside the Rike Center.

The Cardinals (7-9 overall) fall to 3-6 in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play and will host cross-town rival Capital Saturday evening at 5 p.m. inside the Rike Center.

Otterbein held a two-point lead after the first quarter of action after rebounding from Wilmington building a speedy 6-0 lead to open the game.

The Cardinals increased their lead to 19-12 midway through the second period thanks to stellar defensive play that allowed just six points by the Quakers in just over seven minutes.

Wilmington trimmed its deficit to a one-possession game with 4:31 left until halftime before Otterbein closed out the frame with a 23-18 advantage.

The Quakers tied the game less than three minutes into the third quarter before taking the lead at 26-25 with 7:20 on the clock. Wilmington's quickly boosted its lead to 10 points in just six minutes before heading into the final period with an 11-point advantage.

Otterbein managed to cut its deficit to single-digits on a layup by junior Kiersten Taylor to begin the fourth quarter before Wilmington put together a 9-2 run.

The Cardinals trailed by as many as 17 points with 6:12 remaining before baskets from Taylor and classmate Abby Miduri helped the team pull to within six points.

Otterbein found itself down six points with 1:07 left before Wilmington converted 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the game.

Taylor finished with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting with eight rebounds, while Miduri followed with nine points on just 3-of-12 shooting.