WILMINGTON — The Otterbein women's basketball team fell 59-56 to Wilmington in Ohio Athletic Conference action on Wednesday night.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (8-8 overall, 4-5 OAC), Wilmington (5-11 overall, 2-7 OAC)
• Venue: Raizk Arena - Wilmington, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Sophomore Kyla Irby reached double-digit scoring for the 13th time this season, recording 15 points and three rebounds.
• Freshman Kiara Hudgins added 10 points, seven rebounds and a steal
• Sophomore Abby Rawlings tallied seven points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals.
• Graduate student Kathleen DeCarlo contributed six points, eight rebounds and an assist.

Game Highlights

• First Quarter: The opening quarter saw limited action, with the score remaining at 4-3 by the eight-minute mark and no additional points scored until around the 4:30 mark. Freshman Madilyn Stechschulte broke the lull with a layup to get things moving for the Cardinals. Otterbein managed to even the score at 13-13 by the end of the quarter as Rawlings sank both of her free-throws.
• Second Quarter: Irby kicked off the second quarter for the Cardinals with a 3-pointer as the teams battled back and forth for the lead. Sophomore Anna Waskiewicz added a layup, giving Otterbein its first lead of the game, which the Cardinals held onto as they went into halftime with a 29-25 advantage.
• Third Quarter: Otterbein maintained its lead throughout the third quarter, extending the advantage to a 10-point margin over the Quakers. Wilmington attempted to close the gap, but the Cardinals continued to widen their lead. With under a minute left, Rawlings hit a 3-pointer, providing a surge of momentum that carried into the final quarter with Otterbein ahead 44-34.
• Fourth Quarter: Wilmington hit key shots, including a 3-pointer, to close the gap to five, leaving Otterbein scoreless until the six-minute mark. Senior Maizie King's hook shot put the Cardinals up by five, but Wilmington answered with a layup and back-to-back shots to pull within one. Hudgins and Irby both hit free throws to put Otterbein up five, but with two seconds left, Wilmington was fouled on a 3-pointer. A technical foul was then called on Otterbein head coach Diana Noles, giving Wilmington two more attempts. The Quakers made five of six free throws in the eventual 59-56 win.
• Key Team Stats: Otterbein shot 32% from the field and was 4-of-11 (36.4%) from 3-point range. Wilmington shot 42% from the field and was 2-of-11 (18.2%) from 3-point range. The Cardinals were 20-of-24 (83.3%) from the free-throw line, while the Quakers were 15-of-20 (75%). Otterbein out-rebounded Wilmington 34-23.

Notables

• Irby has scored in double figures in 13 games this season and is averaging a team-high 14.6 points per game. She entered Wednesday ranked fifth in the OAC in scoring average (14.5 points per game), first in free-throw percentage (88.1%), tied for third in free throws made (59) and tied for fifth in 3-pointers made (29).
• DeCarlo has scored in double figures in nine games on the season and is averaging 10.2 points per game.
• Otterbein entered Wednesday tied with Marietta for fifth in the OAC standings, while Wilmington was tied with Mount Union and Heidelberg for eighth.
• Head coach Diana Noles is in her sixth year at Otterbein and has an all-time record of 71-60 at the helm of the Cardinals.
• Otterbein holds a 22-12 edge in the series against Wilmington dating back to 2009. The Cardinals had won 10 consecutive meetings entering Wednesday dating back to Jan. 15, 2020.