Lady Quakers hold off Mount Union 91-83

Rausch leads team with 27 points and 12 rebounds in win

[Box Score]

(WC Press Release) Wilmington, OH (January 10, 2004) -- The Wilmington College Lady Quaker basketball team came out firing against Mount Union, opening a 22-point, 33-11 lead with nine minutes to play in the first half, and held on the rest of the way for their ninth win of the season.

Tara Rausch (Marysville/Fairbanks) led all scorers with 27 points while pulling down 12 rebounds and blocking a career-high four shots. Three other Lady Quakers, Erica Smith (Englewood/Northmont), Amy Kincer (Englewood/Northmont) and Amy Eichner (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe) all scored in double figures in the contest.

The hosts jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead in the first two and a half minutes and never trailed the rest of the way. The first half lead grew to as many as 22 with 9:02 left to play in the period, as the Purple Raiders clawed their way back and cut the deficit to 16 heading into the locker room.

In the second half the lead peaked at 18 points before the visitors cut the WC advantage to single digits with 13 minutes to play. The Purple Raiders would cut the lead to as few as seven, with 1:30 to play in the game, but that would be as close as they would come, as the Green and White came out victorious 91-83.

Rausch led the way with 27 points while Smith scored a dozen points and Kincer and Eichner each added 10. Rausch and Siobhan Zerilla (Cincinnati/Mercy) each pulled down 12 rebounds while Sam Hood (Lockbourne/Teays Valley) dished out a game-high seven assists.

The Purple Raiders were led by Lisa Dubinsky who scored 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting, while Abbey Moore scored 15 and Christene Benyak scored 10. Ashley Bourdeau pulled down 11 rebounds while Jen Brozak dished out four assists.

With the win the Lady Quakers improve to 9-3 on the season and 5-1 in the OAC while Mount Union falls to 3-10 and 0-6 in league action.

The next game for the Green and White is on Wednesday, January 14 when the team travels north to Westerville, Ohio to face off against the Lady Cardinals of Otterbein College with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.