GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The No. 10 nationally-ranked Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team extended its season by defeating the Salisbury (Md.) University Seagulls by a 66-54 final score inside Bream Gymnasium.
With the win, the Yellow Jackets (22-4) will advance to the NCAA second round, taking on the winner of the Gettysburg College and Morrisville State (N.Y.) College. This will be the 12th time in school history BW has reached the National Tournament Second Round.
BW was led by senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC forward Lilly Edwards (Dublin/Coffman) as she tallied 12 first-quarter points and totaled 22 points and nine rebounds on the night, controlling the paint. Freshman guard Emily Irwin (Pickerington/Watkins Memorial) notched her career-high in a big-time way, totaling 18 points, hitting 4-6 shots from beyond the three-point line, in her national tournament debut.
1st Half
- A layup on the first possession for BW by junior Academic All-OAC guard Izzy Andrews (Ann Arbor, Mich./Rudolf Steiner School)
- With the Yellow Jackets down 15-13, BW went on 11-0 run highlighted by six points from Edwards and a three from Irwin to finish the first quarter
- The Yellow Jackets outscored the Seagulls 11-9 with four points from sophomore forward Kira Philpot (Cuyahoga Falls/Stow)
- BW went into the locker room at the break with a 35-24, highlighted by that first quarter surge
2nd Half
- Scoring was kicked off by senior Academic All-OAC guard Megan Hensel (Upper Sandusky) as she pulled up from three to notch her first points of the contest
- Another three from Hensel put the Yellow Jackets up 13 with 6:59 left in the third
- Back-to-back shots from downtown from Irwin earned BW its largest lead of the contest, going up 47-30 midway through the third
- The Seagulls went on a 7-0 run themselves before Edwards scored six herself to squash the Salisbury momentum
- The Yellow Jackets went into the fourth quarter with the 16-point lead (55-39)
- Salisbury outscored BW in the fourth 15-11, but it wasn't enough to outlast the Yellow Jackets
- BW earned the big NCAA National Tournament First Round win by a 66-54 score.
The Yellow Jackets shot 25-56 (44.6%) from the field as a team and 6-16 (37.5%) from beyond the arc. BW also outrebounded the Seagulls 38-32 and totaled 28 bench points, with 18 of them from Irwin.
BW will compete in the second-round tomorrow, facing the winner of Gettysburg and Morrisville State. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. inside Bream Gymnasium.