ADA, Ohio – Baldwin Wallace University veteran, 25-year Head Coach Cheri Harrer won her 500th career women's basketball game today as the Yellow Jackets beat Ohio Northern University, 69-64, in an Ohio Athletic Conference game in the ONU Sports Center.

BW (12-3, 7-1 OAC) also moved into a first place tie in the OAC with Ohio Northern (11-4, 7-1 OAC) and John Carroll University (14-1, 7-1 OAC).  The Yellow Jackets have won five straight and nine of their last 10 games.

Harrer has led the Yellow Jackets to 13 OAC titles (eight regular season and five OAC tournament), 12 NCAA Division III National Tournament appearances, five "Sweet 16" appearances, including last season as well as three "Elite Eight" appearances.  She has a 500-182 career record with a .734 winning percentage. She is the second all-time winningest women's and fourth all-time winningest basketball coach in OAC history. Retired Otterbein University men's coach Dick Reynolds leads with 653, Capital University women's coach Dixie Jeffers is second with 651 and retired Muskingum University men's coach Jim Burson is third at 540.

Harrer, who also serves as BW's Senior Women's Administrator (SWA), won her 100th game on February 4, 1997 when BW beat cross-town rival John Carroll, 77-57. She won her 200th contest with a 63-52 win at Heidelberg University on December 18, 2001. She captured her 300th win on February 24, 2005 when the Yellow Jackets defeated Otterbein University, 75-69, in the OAC Tournament. Harrer won her 400th career game on December 5, 2009 with a 57-44 win at Kenyon College.

The Yellow Jackets were led by All-Ohio and Academic All-Ohio guard/forward Audrey Smolik(Stronsgville) with a team-high 17 points.  Junior guard Janaya Feaster (Akron/ Archbishop Hoban) scored 13 points while sophomore guard Mackenzie Colombo (Strasburg) tallied 12.

The Polar Bears were led by senior forward/center Jordan Kimes as she recorded a double-double with a game-high 23 points and game-best 12 rebounds.  Sophomore guard Angela Tesny added 13 points.

The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 7-3 lead on three-pointer by senior All-OAC guard Shari Mangas(Leipsic) at the 18:13 mark.  Ohio Northern responded with a 4-0 run to tie the game at 7-7 on a pair of free throws by junior guard Karissa Steffas at 16:46.   BW used a 12-0 run to take a 19-7 lead on a trey by Feaster at the 11:33 mark.  The Polar Bear used a 16-4 run to cut the lead down to two points at 25-23 on a pair of free throws by Steffas with 41 seconds remaining.  The Yellow Jackets lead 27-23 at the intermission.

Ohio Northern opened the second half on an 8-4 run to tie the game at 31-31 on a three-pointer by Tesny at the 16:25 mark.  The game would be tied two more times with the last coming at 43-43 on a pair of free throws by Polar Bear Tesny at 11:37.    BW used a 12-6 run to take a 55-49 lead on a layup by sophomore forward Clara Lemmon (Canton/Louisville) at 4:56.    

Ohio Northern answered back with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 55-55 on a layup by Lauck at the 3:14 mark. The Yellow Jackets closed the game on a 14-9 run to secure the win.

BW returns to friendly confines of the Ursprung Gym on Wednesday, January 21 when it hosts cross-town rival John Carroll in an OAC game at 7:30 p.m.