WILMINGTON, Ohio – Charging back from a 13-point deficit, the Kenyon College women's basketball team twice tied the score in the fourth quarter of Saturday's non-conference contest at Wilmington College. Poor shooting, however, doomed the Ladies, who fell to the host Quakers, 65-61.

The game was the first of the four-team, two-day annual Fred Raizk Memorial Tournament held at Hermann Court. The result dropped Kenyon to 6-5 overall and boosted Wilmington to 5-6. Kenyon now moves on to face Berea College in Sunday's consolation game at 1 p.m., while Wilmington heads to Sunday's 3 p.m. championship game against Trine University, a 72-63 winner over Berea in Saturday's other first-round game.

The Ladies put themselves in a hole by shooting just 25.0 percent (8-of-32) in the first half of play. Four of those eight field goals came early and were converted from outside the three-point arc by Miranda Diesz, Griffin Tullis, Sidney Cera and Jessica Gerber. That burst gave Kenyon a 12-9 lead with 4:31 left in the first quarter, but the Ladies shot just 16.6 percent (4-of-24) for the reminder of the half.

The Kenyon drought gave Wilmington enough room to move ahead 18-14 at the end of the first quarter and 33-25 at the half.   

The Quaker lead expanded to 13 points when Wilmington opened the third quarter with five straight points. Kenyon called a timeout at the 7:53 mark and then returned to the court to start chipping away at its deficit. An 11-1 run ensued. Four different players, including Shelby Gray, tallied points during the run. Gray hit a jumper midway-through the run and then capped it off with a three-pointer at the 4:51 mark.

Kenyon twice pulled within two points of Wilmington, but the Quakers got to the fourth quarter with a 48-45 lead.

Gerber dropped in another three-ball to start the final frame for Kenyon and tied the score at 48. About a minute later, Tullis converted a layup to tie things at 50. That, however, would be the last time the Ladies tasted the lead. Wilmington's Mackenzie Campbell took the ball the other way on a fast break to score quickly and spark a five-point surge that gave the Quakers the lead for good.

With 3:29 left, Bailey Dominguez rang up yet another three-pointer to pull Kenyon within two points, but down the stretch the Ladies missed five of seven field-goal attempts and turned the ball over three times.

In a last-ditch effort, Tullis knocked down one final three-pointer to make the score 63-61 with three seconds on the clock, but Wilmington's Brittany Jefferson snapped in two free throws to secure the victory. Tullis finished with ten points for Kenyon, while Gerber led the way with 12. Lane Davis and Diesz each added eight for the Ladies, who finished the game 21-of-65 (32.3 percent) overall and 9-of-26 (34.6 percent) from long distance.

Campbell paced Wilmington with a game-high 17 points. Emily Harman and Mary Moyer tossed in 11, while Jefferson added nine. Campbell also had 11 rebounds and Moyer snared 12 for the Quakers, who dominated the glass, 51-34.