For The Dialog
WILMINGTON – The Wilmington Friends Quakers needed two overtimes to beat St. Mark’s, 51-46, in a thriller in the Diamond State Classic on Monday morning at the St. E Center.
The Spartans emerged from a pretty even first half with a 16-15 lead. They picked up a number of early fouls in the third quarter, but a Kendra Schweizer three-pointer cut the Quakers’ lead to 24-23 as the game headed to the fourth quarter. That is where the action picked up.
Both teams were trading field goals early as the game was back and forth. A Schweizer three gave the Spartans a 35-33 lead as time ran down. Friends’ Megan Flanagan hit a jumper to tie it up. Schweizer was then fouled driving to the basket with 18 seconds left, and she calmly hit both free throws to give St. Mark’s a 37-35 lead.
Jayna Jones of Friends was fouled with seven seconds remaining, and she hit two pressure-filled free throws to send the game to overtime. Schweizer hit another three-point shot and two free throws, while Natalie DePaulo added a field goal and two foul shots for the Quakers.
In the second overtime, Friends got early field goals from Margaret Sullivan and DePaulo, along with two huge free throws from Maggie Martelli-Raben. Her two foul shots gave Friends a 50-46 lead. St. Mark’s could manage just two points in the second extra period.
The Quakers earned their first win of the season and were led by DePaulo with 16 and Sullivan with 12. St. Mark’s dropped to 2-4. Schweizer scored 15 to lead the way, and Delaney Carey added 10. St. Mark’s next play at Conrad on Jan. 5 at 5 p.m.
