Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams celebrated exciting home victories this past week, with the men defeating the North Carolina Wesleyan Bishops 64-47 on Dec. 1 on and the women topping the Methodist University Monarchs 70-63 on Dec. 3. 

With their next home game a distant month away, the men’s squad wanted to give their fans a game to remember and the Bishops an experience they would like to forget.

“We won’t get to play a home game here until January, so we really wanted come out and give the home crowd something to cheer about tonight,” said head coach Tom Palombo.

Dominating in rebounds, charges drawn and field goals, the Quakers delivered with a victory that brought their record to 4-2. Since this win, the Quakers beat Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) opponent Bridgewater to improve to 5-3, 1-1 in the conference.

“Our team defense was really good,” Palombo said. “We may not be that talented individually on defense, but as a team, we played really well together.”

The Quakers’ strong defense allowed them to jump out to an early lead and capture momentum they carried through to the last buzzer. 

“We were really worried about them getting in the paint and getting to the glass,” Palombo said. “But we kept them out for the most part and we did out-rebound them, which we pride ourselves on. We kind of hang our hat on keeping people out of the paint, off the free-throw line and trying to limit their second shots.”

The Quakers can certainly hang their hat on this performance, as they held the Bishops to just four points from the paint, only two fast-break points and six second-chance points.

“They were one of the first athletic and disciplined teams we played all year, so our expectation was for them to play hard and us to play hard and just go at it,” said junior Tobi Akinsola. 

Frustration began to surface on the face of the N.C. Wesleyan coach until, finally, he took a seat, arms crossed, and watched the Quakers’ defense pick apart his team. 

Meanwhile, a large crowd cheered on the home team. Among them were Jean and Gary Bellicic, grandparents of first-year player Connor Bellicic.

“It was very exciting for us because this is the first time we have been here for a basketball game,” said Gary. “We’re excited for him and the team, and we’re happy to be here.”

Looking forward, the Quakers’ began a string of conference matches on the road against Bridgewater College Dec. 4. The away game begins a slew of road matches lasting until their next home appearance on Jan. 3.

The team hopes to continue winning and capture the conference title. 

“We’ve been the ODAC champions two years now, so we know what it takes,” said senior Martin Stevenson. “We just want to keep doing that and get the title.” 

On Dec. 3, the women defeated the Methodist University Monarchs, 70-63, in an exciting come-from-behind victory at Ragan-Brown Field House.

Although Methodist jumped ahead with an early 13-point lead, junior Jazlyn Gibbs scored 10 points in the first half to help the Quakers’ rally back to a two-point deficit at the half, 30-28. Gibbs’ 21 total points was the game high. 

“We needed to do a better job of rebounding (in the first half),” said coach Stephanie Flamini. 

“We needed to get higher percentage shots and play better defense. But we put it together, and that’s what we did in the second half to get the win.”

Senior Lauren LeFevers took control in the second half and helped Guilford secure the win with 12 of her total 18 points.

Aiding in the team’s effort were first-year Gabby Oglesby with 13 points and seven rebounds and Morgan King with eight points and seven rebounds. 

“At the beginning, we were playing like we were individual players,” said Oglesby. “But once we started playing together as a team, everything started coming together.”

Although the Quakers maintained the lead throughout the second half, Methodist was never far behind.

“We started looking for each other and we started encouraging each other,” said Oglesby. “Some shots weren’t falling, but we kept encouraging each other and that got the energy up.” 

As Guilford’s teamwork fell into place, so did the energy level of the players — and the fans. 

“I thought it was an awesome game,” said Melinda Oglesby, mother of Gabby Oglesby. “I was a little worried at first because the other team was ahead by 12 points but our girls came back and pulled out. The game was intense.”

“Every game is going to be a challenge,” said Flamini. “We try to get better every day and get as many wins as we can get.”

Oglesby says that despite the win, they will not take any game lightly.

 “We are going to keep the intensity up and not play down to any team’s level,” said Oglesby. “We’re going to play our game.” 

The women’s record is currently 4-3 (1-2) in the ODAC.