BEREA, Ohio –Sophomore guard Hannah Fecht (Hilliard/Davidson) led the Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team to a 76-61 victory over The College of Wooster in an opening round game of the BW Holiday Invitational in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
BW (10-0), who remained undefeated to open the season for the first time since the 2005-06 season, advances to the championship game to face Loras College (Iowa) on Friday, December 30 at 5 p.m. Wooster (1-10) will take on La Roche College (Pa.) in Friday's consolation game at 1 p.m.
The Yellow Jackets had three players score in double figures led by Fecht as she recorded her first career double-double with a career-high 22 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Senior guard Mackenzie Colombo (Strasburg) contributed 14 points along with and sophomore forward Rachel Womeldorf (Lewis Center/Olentangy) added 13.
The Fighting Scots were led by junior guards Aki Shurelds and Anna Gibbs as they each scored a team-high 18 points apiece.
In the first quarter, BW opened the game on a 6-0 run, holding the Fighting Scots scoreless for the first 2:45. Wooster then responded with an 11-6 run to cut the Yellow Jackets lead down to one after a pair of shots from Shurelds with 5:00 left in the first. Three-pointers from Fecht and freshman guard Kasey Hughes (Springboro) gave the Yellow jackets a 21-14 lead going into the second frame.
In the second, Wooster was able to pick up their defensive intensity holding the Yellow Jackets to just 8 total points in the quarter. The Fighting Scotts produced a 6-2 run beginning at 8:40 of the quarter to bring the BW lead down to 29-26 at the halftime intermission.
In the third quarter, back-to-back layups from Womeldorf extended the Yellow Jackets lead to 38-32 with just over 6:00 to play. BW extended their lead to 46-36 when freshman guard Riley Schill (Sheffield Lake/Elyria Catholic) converted a lay-up at 2:38 in the quarter. Wooster was able to cut into the deficit over the last minute of the quarter with a pair of three's from Shurelds and Gibbs to make the score 48-44 heading into the final period.
The Fighting Scots were able to take their first lead of the game at 5:20 of the fourth quarter after a layup by freshman guard Akwia Tilton made the score 57-56. BW responded with a 20-4 run to close the game highlighted by 8 straight points from Fecht.