BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team came up big in the fourth quarter as it won its Ohio Athletic Conference opener against the University of Mount Union, 53-46, in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
BW (3-2, 1-0 OAC) was led by junior forward Sydney Clark (Parma/Lake Ridge Academy) as she was the lone Yellow Jacket in double figures with 11 points. In addition, sophomore guard Katie Swanson (Elgin, Ill./ St. Edward Central Catholic) scored a career-high nine points and junior forward Clara Lemmon (Canton/Louisville) tallied eight points and grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. Junior point guard Mackenzie Colombo (Strasburg) and sophomore guard Katie Smith (Fairview Park/Fairview) each recorded six points.
Mount Union (3-2, 0-1 OAC) had two players score in double figures led by All-OAC guard Annie Bova as she scored a game-high 22 points. Katie Reed contributed 10 points.In the first quarter, the teams went back and forth over the first seven minutes until the Purple Raiders took n early four-point lead at 11-7 on a jumper by Rachel Tinkey at the 3:03 mark.
BW cut the lead down to 13-11 on a pair of free throws by Swanson with 33 seconds left in the opening stanza. Mount Union scored the final points of the quarter and led 15-11 after the first.
The Yellow Jackets opened the second period on a 9-4 run to regain the lead at 20-19 on layup by Smith at the 4:11 mark. The Purple Raiders closed the quarter on a 5-0 run and lead 24-20 at the intermission.
In the third quarter, both teams scored four points apiece during the first five minutes with Mount Union holding a 28-24 lead. BW closed out the period on a 7-3 run to tie the game at 31-31 when Colombo split a pair of free throws with one second remaining.
The Yellow Jackets opened the final period on a 10-0 run to take a 41-31 lead on a three-pointer by Swanson at 7:17 mark. The Purple Raiders responded with a 6-2 run to cut the lead down to 43-37 as Bova knocked down a pair from the charity stripe at 5:54.
After a triple by the BW's Lemmon, the Purple Raiders scored six unanswered points and cut the lead down to 46-43 on Bova layup at the 1:37 mark. BW closed the game on a 7-3 run.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Saturday, December 5 when they host an OAC game against Otterbein University in the Ursprung Gym at 3 p.m. Fans can follow all of the action live at http://www.bwyellowjackets.com/sports/wbkb/2015-16/boxscores/20151205_2k6x.xml