Seniors Katie Smith and Megan Schubert with their families (Photo courtesy of Jesse Kucewicz)
Posted: Feb 14, 2018
BEREA, Ohio – In a battle of fourth-place teams in the Ohio Athletic Conference, the Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team could not hold off the University of Mount Union, falling 83-72 on Seniors' and Parents' Night inside Ursprung Gymnasium.
Junior All-OAC guard Hannah Fecht (Hilliard/Davidson) led BW (14-10, 10-7 OAC) with 18 points. Junior Academic All-OAC guard Rachel Womeldorf (Lewis Center/Olentangy) was the Yellow Jackets' second leading scorer as she chipped in 12 points.
Junior guard Rachel Tinkey led Mount Union (14-10, 11-6 OAC) with a game-high and a career-high 29 points while junior forward Jaime Sanborn contributed 18 points of her own.
Before the game began, the Yellow Jackets took the time to honor senior Academic All-OAC guard Katie Smith (Fairview Park/Fairview) and senior forward Megan Schubert (Defiance/Ayersville) for their four years of dedication to the women's basketball program. Together, Schubert and Smith have two OAC Tournament Final appearances, one OAC Tournament championship, one NCAA Tournament berth and a career overall record of 74-32 and a 49-28 mark in the conference.
Fecht got the game started off with a bang when she came down the floor and drained a three-pointer to open up the night's scoring. A couple of possessions later, Fecht put in work on the glass, grabbing an offensive rebound that set up sophomore guard Riley Schill (Sheffield Village/Elyria Catholic), who got fouled and hit both from the free throw line to give BW a 5-4 lead just one minute into the game. The Yellow Jacket offense stalled as the quarter moved along while the Purple Raiders finished off the period on a 9-1 run and led 16-8 heading to the second.
BW went without a field goal for over eight minutes, extending into the second quarter, until Womeldorf finally got the offense going as she went on a personal 6-0 run. After sophomore guard/forward Kara Marshall (Copley/Akron Archbishop Hoban) knocked down a free throw, Mount Union took a 25-16 lead with 5:56 left in the half. Freshman guard Gabby Garrett (Columbus/Bishop Watterson) and transfer sophomore guard Mary Schentur (Broadview Heights/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) then hit back-to-back three-pointers and, suddenly, BW only trailed by three at 25-22. The Purple Raiders recovered and held a 37-29 lead at halftime thanks to a buzzer-beating three pointer from Zanny Sauter.
Fecht opened up the second half with five consecutive points, cutting the Purple Raider lead down to 37-34. Mount quickly countered and built back up to an eight-point lead at the 8:42 mark. BW worked its way back within one possession with 7:44 remaining and remained within one possession for much of the period until Tinkey took over the game with seven consecutive points and put Mount Union back up by eight points, 53-45. By the end of the quarter, the Purple Raiders found themselves leading 59-52.
Every time the Yellow Jackets would work their way back into the game, the Purple Raiders would come down the floor and hit a quick basket, keeping BW at arms length. Mount Union led 72-65 at the halfway point in the quarter, built up to its first double-digit lead of the game at 76-66 at the 2:55 mark and used a 21-10 run to close out an 83-72 victory.
With the loss, BW falls behind Mount Union in the OAC standings as the Purple Raiders take fourth place over the Yellow Jackets. A win by Otterbein University over OAC-leading Ohio Northern University guaranteed the BW will be the fifth seed in the tournament.
BW will travel to take on Wilmington for the OAC regular season finale with Wilmington College on Saturday, February 17, inside Fred Raizk Arena.
The 2018 Ohio Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament begins on Tuesday, February 21. The semifinals will be played on Thursday, February 22 on the campuses of the highest remaining seeds. The championship game will be contested on Saturday, February 24 on the campus of the highest remaining seeds. Please visit www.bwyellowjackets.com for exact game times.