WILMINGTON, OHIO -- Wilmington College relied on a strong defensive effort to top Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 53-40 in women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon.
Wilmington held the Fightin' Engineers to just 29% from the field in the contest and relied on a balanced scoring attack to earn the victory. Makenzie Wippel led the winning Quakers with 11 points.
Rose-Hulman offered a balanced scoring attack of its own, but could not overcome an eight-point halftime deficit in the final 20 minutes. Senior Kelsey Ploof (Noblesville) earned a spot on the all-tournament team after leading the Engineers with eight points and eight rebounds.
Junior Sheree Williams (Bluffton, S.C.), sophomore Carrie Morris (Altadena, Calif./Mayfield) and freshman Abbie Marshall (St. Louis, Mo./Nerinx Hall) contributed seven points each. Sophomore Andi Evers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) added five points.
Wilmington jumped out to an 11-4 lead early, before Rose-Hulman rattled off seven straight points to tie the score at 11-11 on a layup by Ploof at the 12:53 mark. The Engineers gained the lead at 15-13 on a score by senior Lauren Meadows (Indianapolis/Brebeuf), but Wilmington closed the first half on a 14-4 run to take a 27-19 lead at the break.
In the second half, Rose-Hulman trimmed the lead to seven points at 31-24 on a score by Marshall with 16:13 remaining. Wilmington scored seven straight points to push the lead to 14, but Rose-Hulman fought back to within eight at 46-38 on a trey by Morris with 4:10 remaining.
The Quakers (2-2) answered with seven straight points to secure the victory. Rose-Hulman stands 0-3 on the season and travels to Marian University next Saturday at 1 p.m.
