BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team could not find an answer for 15th-ranked Ohio Northern University, falling 65-46 in Ohio Athletic Conference action inside Ursprung Gymnasium. 

 

Sophomore guard Riley Schill (Sheffield Village/Elyria Catholic) led BW (12-8, 8-5 OAC) with 10 points. Junior All-OAC guard Hannah Fecht (Hilliard/Davidson) was the leading rebounder with six boards. 

 

Senior forward Amy Bullimore led Ohio Northern (18-2, 12-2 OAC) with 19 points. Senior guard Lindsey Black and junior guard Jenna Dirksen each contributed 10 points of their own. 

 

Earning her first start of the season, senior forward Megan Schubert (Defiance/Ayersville) immediately made her presence known on the court when she blocked Bullimore, the OAC's leading scorer, on the Polar Bears' opening possession. Mistakes hurt the Yellow Jackets on offense, however, as BW had three early turnovers and trailed 8-1 with 6:18 remaining in the period. Sophomore guard Kasey Hughes (Springboro) provided a jolt when she hit a three-point bank shot from half court as time expired and the Yellow Jackets only trailed 15-12 heading into the second quarter.

 

Turnovers continued to plague BW while the offense struggled to find its rhythm. Ohio Northern got out to a nine-point, 27-18 lead, with just 2:22 left in the half before the Yellow Jackets finished the quarter on an 8-2 run and only trailed 29-26 at halftime. 

 

Ohio Northern began the second half on a 12-0 run, taking its first double-digit lead of the game, while the Polar Bear defense held BW scoreless until the 4:27 mark when junior Academic All-OAC guard MacKenzi Matthews (North Royalton) made a layup to bring the score to 41-28. ONU outscored the Yellow Jackets 23-9 in the period and led 52-35 going into the fourth quarter. 

 

BW had an opportunity to cut into the lead when Bullimore picked up two quick fouls. Even with the Polar Bears' leading scorer on the bench, however, the Yellow Jackets still trailed by 17 points, with 6:10 remaining in the game. Ohio Northern had a firm hold on the lead and cruised to a 65-46 victory.

  

BW will hit the road on Saturday, February 3, for an OAC game with Otterbein University at 3 p.m. inside the Rike Center.