SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wilmington Quakers struggled to solve an active Brescia Bearcat zone defense, but they did just enough to pull out a 59-51 victory in the opening game of the 2011 Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic, hosted by Wittenberg University.

The win moves the Quakers, who improved to 8-3 on the season, into the championship game against either Rose-Hulman or Wittenberg at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 30. Brescia, which is now 6-9 overall, will take on the loser of the Rose-Hulman/Wittenberg match-up in the consolation game at noon.

Wilmington led nearly from start to finish, with the exception of two ties, the last one coming with 5:16 remaining in the first half. The Quakers responded with a half-ending 8-1 run, and they held firm throughout the final 20 minutes. The lead never dropped below four points or rose above 10 points in the second half.

Wilmington, which was held to 32 percent shooting from the floor and just 3-of-15 from three-point range, was paced by a double-double performance from LeAnn Topp, who finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Makenzie Wippel overcame a 2-for-13 shooting performance to add nine points and 13 rebounds.

Brescia shot a little better at 35.6 percent, but the Bearcats were outscored by eight from the free throw line. More importantly, Brescia lost the rebounding battle by a whopping 55-34 margin.

The Bearcats were led by Olivia Moore, who turned in a monster stat line of 18 points, four rebounds and a tournament-record eight blocked shots. Demi Wendt added 10 points off the bench.