The Lady Quakers miss NCAA Tournament

Lady Quakers not given chance to defend their National Title

February 27, 2005

Courtney Balser

WILMINGTON, Ohio — For the first time in the past four seasons, the Wilmington College Lady Quaker basketball team did not advance to the NCAA post-season tournament.

The Lady Quakers ended their regular season and conference tournament season with a 23-5 record, falling in the OAC Tournament Championship game to Baldwin-Wallace College.

The Lady Quakes needed to receive one of seven "Pool C" bid, reserved for runners-ups of conferences that received automatic bids.

Two Great Lakes Region schools, DePauw and Albion, received Pool C bids.

The Lady Quakers had earned three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, advancing to the "Elite Eight", "Sweet 16", and winning the National Championship last season.

The team faced off against two teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, playing four games against those teams with a 1-3 record in those games. The team split the regular season series with Baldwin-Wallace, falling to them in the OAC Tournament Championship game, while falling to Franklin College on December 19.

Additionally, the Lady Quakers saw Maryville (TN) College at the Raymond James Financial Shootout hosted by Franklin, but never faced off against the Lady Scots. Maryville received a "Pool B" bid, reserved for teams not in conferences or in conferences that have less than seven members.

The news ends the career of one of Wilmington College's greatest players and most tenacious rebounders, Siobhan Zerilla (Cincinnati/Mercy), the team's only senior. Zerilla recorded 305 rebounds this season, which stands as sixth highest single season total in school history. In all, Zerilla holds four of the top six rebound totals in school history. She ends her career as NCAA Division III's 10th all-time leading rebounder with 1,330 career boards, while scoring 1,188 points, the 10th highest career total in school history.