LATROBE, Pa. – Baldwin Wallace University freshman forward Lilly Edwards (Dublin/Coffman) made her collegiate debut in style as she posted a double-double off the bench in the Yellow Jackets season-opening 78-60 win over St. Vincent (Pa.) College in non-conference action inside the Robert S. Carey Center.
Edwards (Dublin/Coffman) led BW (1-0) in both scoring and rebounding with her first career double-double of 23 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference guard/forward Kara Marshall (Copley/Archbishop Hoban) and senior two-time All-OAC guard/forward Hannah Fecht (Hilliard/Davidson) also hit double-digit scoring with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Freshman guard Megan Hensel (Upper Sandusky) was the second-leading rebounder with eight boards.
For the Bearcats (1-1), junior guard Bri Van Volkenburg had a team-high 13 points followed closely behind by sophomore forward Madison Kollar with 11 while junior forward Paige Montrose notched 10 points to go along with a team-leading eight rebounds.
Both teams traded baskets for the majority of the first quarter until St. Vincent opened up a six-point lead, 15-9, with 3:40 left thanks to some strong paint play. Marshall then came down the court and nailed a three-point shot to cut the lead down to three points while Marshall, sophomore guard Gabby Garrett (Columbus/Bishop Watterson) and junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Riley Schill (Sheffield Village/Elyria Catholic) hit a combined five-of-six free throws during a 7-0 run to propel BW to a 20-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.
St. Vincent used a combination of Yellow Jacket turnovers and offensive rebounds to chip away at the Yellow Jacket lead, tying the game at 24-24 with 6:58 left on the clock. BW again closed the period strong on yet another 7-0 run, capped off by a Marshall fast-break layup as time expired to give the Yellow Jackets their first double-digit advantage of the game, 40-30, heading into halftime.
For most of the third quarter, BW maintained around a 10-point lead while tightening up on the boards and keeping the Bearcats off the offensive glass. Toward the end of the period, a three-pointer and a pair of free throws brought St. Vincent within seven points, 55-48, with just 13 seconds left. However, Edwards channeled her fellow teammate in Marshall and made a layup as the clock ran out to put the Yellow Jackets back ahead by nine points going into the fourth quarter.
Two rebounds on the first two Bearcat possessions secured the double-double for Edwards but she wasn't done working yet as she still recorded three points and four rebounds in the final period. St. Vincent would not come any closer than eight points, 64-56, with 4:42 left but the Yellow Jackets closed out the night on a 14-2 run to seal the 18-point victory.
BW will compete in the first of two tournaments beginning on Friday, Nov. 16, in the Chuck Resler Invitational, against host University of Rochester (N.Y) at 8 p.m. inside the Louis Alexander Palestra in the Goergen Athletic Center.
