CLEVELAND, OHIO --  Senior forward Berit Eppard scored a game-high 16 points all in the second half as the Case Western Reserve University women's basketball defeated Cleveland cross-town rival Baldwin Wallace University, 61-56, in its season-opener at Horsburgh Gymnasium in the Veale Center.

In addition to Eppard for CWRU (2-0), sophomore guard Jessica McCoy had 14 points, senior forward Brooke Orcutt had 12 and junior center Laura Mummey had 12 markers. The Spartans enjoyed a 19-9 advantage at the foul line. BW (0-1) was led by senior forward Audrey Smolik (Strongsville) and junior forward Alissa Munro (Mansfield/ Lexington) each had 11 points.

The Yellow Jackets next play on Friday, Nov. 21 when they host Bethany (W.Va.) College in the first round of the BW Invitational Tournament in Berea. BW plays Bethany at 7 p.m. The opening game pits Mount St. Joseph University and Buffalo State University at 5 p.m. MSJU features freshman Lauren Hill who has received national acclaim due to her battle with terminal cancer. The consolation game is on Saturday at 2 p.m. and the championship game is at 4 p.m.

In the first half, BW grabbed a quick, 4-0m lead at 19:13 when Smolik made a pair of foul shots. The Spartans came back to tie it at 4-4 and 6-6 and took a 9-6 lead at 14:35 when Mummey canned a three-pointer. The Jackets went on a 5-0 run to take an 11-9 lead at 13:11 when Smolik canned a triple. Case scored four straight points to take a 13-11 lead at 8:48, but BW came right back with a 9-0 run to build its largest lead at 22-15 at 3:18 when Clark made a layup. After CWRU cut the lead to 22-19 at 1:48, BW outscored the Spartans 4-2 to lead 26-21 at the intermission.

In the second half, BW gained its largest lead of the game at 31-21 at 17:15 with the first four points and when sophomore guard Mackenzie Colombo (Strasburg) made a layup.  The Spartans slowly chipped away at the lead and finally tied the game four times with the last at 51-51 with 2:50 left when Eppard made a layup. The game was tied at 52-52 and 54-54 before CWRU took the lead for good at 56-54 with 36 seconds left when Eppard hit a jumper from the left baseline. CWRU made five of its last six foul shots to seal its victory.

Following its play in the BW Invitational this weekend, Cheri Harrer's team plays again on Wednesday, Nov. 26 when it hosts Waynesburg (Pa.) College at 2 p.m.