WESTERVILLE — A trio of double-digit scorers propelled the Otterbein women's basketball team past Wilmington, 66-57, in Ohio Athletic Conference action on Wednesday.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (11-11 overall, 7-8 OAC), Wilmington (6-16 overall, 3-12 OAC)
• Venue: Rike Center - Westerville, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Sophomore Abby Rawlings paced the team with 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal.
• Senior Maizie King chipped in 12 points and grabbed four rebounds.
• Freshman Mattie Walburn recorded 10 points, along with a rebound and an assist.
• Graduate student Kathleen DeCarlo posted eight points, nine rebounds and an assist.
• Sophomore Anna Waskiewicz tallied eight points, seven rebounds and one assist.
• Freshman Madilyn Stechschulte added four points and 10 rebounds.

Game Highlights

• First Quarter: Otterbein started off strong, scoring 22 points in the first quarter while limiting Wilmington to just 10. The Cardinals went on a 12-4 run to begin the game. The three Cardinal musketeers contributed to the scoring, with King putting up six points, Walburn adding six, and DeCarlo scoring five in the quarter. With 2:31 left in the first quarter, Wilmington found some shots to close the gap, ending the period with a 22-10 score.
• Second Quarter: King kept the energy going by opening the second quarter with back-to-back layups. Rawlings added another basket, extending the Cardinals' lead to 18 points with 7:55 remaining. Wilmington attempted to chip away at the deficit and capitalize on free throws, but Waskiewicz closed the quarter with a layup, keeping Otterbein ahead by 15 points, 39-24.
• Third Quarter: Sophomore Kyla Irby started the quarter with some free throws and a jumper, putting the Cardinals up by 18. Walburn added to the lead with back-to-back pull-up jumpers with 5:24 remaining. Wilmington was able to cut the deficit to 15, but once again, Waskiewicz closed the quarter with a jumper to keep the lead at 55-38.
• Fourth Quarter: Neither team made a field goal until the 8:16 mark when Rawlings knocked down a 3-pointer. She then added another with 5:40 remaining, extending the lead to 17. Otterbein went scoreless from the field until the 2:03 mark when Waskiewicz converted a fast-break layup off a turnover. Wilmington attempted to take advantage of the scoring drought, cutting the deficit to nine points — their smallest margin since the start of the game — with 1:01 left. However, Otterbein maintained strong defense to close out the game and secure the 66-57 victory. 
• Key Team Stats: Otterbein shot 86.7% from the field and was 3-of-12 (25%) from 3-point range. Wilmington shot 39% from the field and was 3-of-17 (17.6%) from 3-point range. The Cardinals were 13-of-15 (86.7%) from the free-throw line, while the Quakers were 3-of-17 (17.6%). Otterbein out-rebounded Wilmington by a 43-36 margin.

Quotes

• Head coach Diana Noles: "Any win in our conference is a great win, especially late in the season. Wilmington is a tough team and super gritty—they fight and compete until the last minute. I thought our players did a great job, especially early on, stepping up to the challenge. They really raised their level, competed hard, and got after it. Definitely owning the boards in the second half was huge, and limiting their two offensive boards in that period really helped us down the stretch."
• Sophomore Abby Rawlings: "It was a great team win. During practice, we really focused on honing in on specific plays and players. This win was important, especially after the tough loss at Wilmington. With the season winding down and tournament time approaching, it was a solid victory to build momentum for the upcoming tournament."

Notables

• Irby has scored in double figures in 15 games this season and is averaging a team-high 12.7 points per game. She entered Wednesday ranked sixth in the OAC in scoring average (12.9 points per game), fourth in free-throw percentage (85.6%), and free throws made (77) and tied for sixth in 3-pointers made (36).
• DeCarlo has scored in double figures in 14 games this season and is averaging 11 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. She entered Wednesday ranked eighth in the OAC in rebounding average (6.4 per game) and ninth in scoring average (11.2 points per game).
• Walburn has scored in double figures in each of the past five games and nine games overall on the season. She is averaging 8.3 points per game.
• Head coach Diana Noles is in her sixth year at Otterbein and has an all-time record of 74-63 at the helm of the Cardinals.
• Otterbein entered Wednesday in sixth place in the OAC standings, one game behind fifth-place Marietta and one game ahead of seventh-place Mount Union. Wilmington entered the day in eighth place. The top six teams qualify for the OAC Tournament.
• Otterbein holds a 23-12 edge in the series against Wilmington dating back to 2009 and had won 10 straight meetings until falling 59-56 to the Quakers earlier this season, on Jan. 22, in Wilmington.