OAKLAND CITY, Ind.—Kentucky Wesleyan won its second straight game with an 88-81 road victory over Oakland City on Wednesday evening in non-conference play. The Panthers improve to 13-4 overall on the season.
The Panthers used a dominating first quarter to open the game right from the start. Kentucky Wesleyan led 19-8 midway through the quarter after five Panthers players had each scored at least one basket. The Panthers held control of the contest with a 25-12 after the first.
Oakland City chipped into the lead in the second frame, after out-scoring Kentucky Wesleyan 22-13 in the second quarter. The Panthers' saw a 27-14 lead evaporate to just 38-34 after the Mighty Oaks finished the final five minutes of the quarter on a 20-11 run.
However, the Panthers found their offensive flow with an impressive 60 percent shooting margin in the second half. Oakland City kept pace with Kentucky Wesleyan in the third quarter, and even tied the game up at 47-47 with five minutes and change left in the quarter. The Panthers regained the lead, and led 61-57 heading into the fourth.
With 6:38 to go, the Mighty Oaks led 68-67. The Panthers would respond with a quick 8-3 run to lead 76-70 after two big buckets from Erin Dorn inside the paint, and a layup from Addie Reimbold.
Oakland City would not go away though, and trailed by just one point with under two minutes to play. Sydney Morabito scored on a layup down low with 1:19 to play, and then Brittany Wells drilled a clutch three with 51 seconds left to put the Panthers ahead 81-75. Kentucky Wesleyan out-scored OCU 12-6 in the final two minutes of the game.
Brittany Wells led the Panthers' offensive charge with 18 points on 7-12 shooting from the floor. Freshman Keelie Lamb scored a season-high 17 points and dished out two assists and recorded two steals. Lamb shot a perfect 5-5 from the field in the victory.
Addie Reimbold notched 12 points, while seniors Sydney Morabito and Bria Wright collected 11 and 10 points each. Wright posted a team-high 13 rebounds for her first double-double of the year. Wright also dished out a team-high three assists.
Erin Dorn registered eight points and Shayla Wright and Jasmine Shelt both chipped in with six points apiece.
As a team, Kentucky Wesleyan shot 49 percent from the floor, and 19-22 from the free throw line for a total of 86 percent.
The Panthers' defense scored 22 points off of turnovers, and added 48 points scored inside the paint. Kentucky Wesleyan came away with 12 steals on the night, and their largest lead of the contest was 13.
Kentucky Wesleyan will be back in action on Saturday at home as they play host to G-MAC foe Trevecca Nazarene. Tip-off is set for 1 pm.
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