The Ohio Wesleyan women’s basketball team has been solid at home all season long, and that didn’t change in the home finale as the Bishops held off visiting Kenyon 59-55 in North Coast Athletic Conference action Wednesday night at Branch Rickey Arena.
OWU (13-11, 8-7 NCAC), which improved to 10-4 at home, was efficient from the field and the foul stripe, early on and down the stretch.
The Bishops, who used a 25-16 second quarter to take a 36-25 lead into the break, made 11 of their 19 shots from the field in the first half (57.9 percent) and cashed in on 12 of their 14 free throws.
They cooled off a bit in the second half, but still went 10-for-12 at the stripe to cap a 22-26 effort on the night.
Claire Sterling led the charge, finishing with a game-high 23 points. She made seven of her 11 attempts from the floor and was a perfect 8-for-8 at the charity stripe.
Other OWU standouts included Cierra Joiner, who was 7-for-8 at the line on the way to a 13-point performance; Molly Delaney, who had 10 points; and Nicole Popovich, who finished with four points, a team-best seven rebounds and shared the team lead in assists with two.
The Ladies (10-4, 6-9 NCAC), who outscored the Bishops 16-8 in the third to claw back into things, got 15 points from Ellie Schaub and 13 from Paige Matijasich. The duo also combined for 12 rebounds, six apiece, in the setback.
Next up, Ohio Wesleyan will cap the regular season with a date with host Denison Saturday in Granville. Tip is set for 1 p.m.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Ohio Wesleyan didn’t shoot a single free throw in the first half, but made them count in the second to hold off visiting Kenyon 67-55 in North Coast Athletic Conference action Wednesday night at Branch Rickey Arena.
The Bishops (12-12, 7-10 NCAC) cashed in on 8 of 10 down the stretch, with Grant Gossard connecting on more than half. He finished 5-for-6 at the line.
OWU outscored Kenyon (6-18, 3-14 NCAC) 34-27 in the first half and 33-28 in the second to account for the final margin.
Jack Clement led the Bishops with 15 points while Jaret Gerber and Gossard had 14 and 13, respectively. Gossard also hauled down nine rebounds, tying for the team lead with Ethan Stanislawski.
Carter Powell had a double-double for the Lords, collecting 12 points and 10 boards. Ugnius Zilinskas was also steady, finishing with 11 points in the setback.
OWU returns to action Saturday against host Denison. Tip is slated for 3 p.m.
