BEREA, OHIO --  Senior guard Jessica Butzer (Orrville) came off the bench to score a team-high 18 points, including the game-winning jump shot with 2.19 seconds remaining as the Baldwin-Wallace College women's basketball team defeated Otterbein College, 70-68, in a first round Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament game tonight (Tuesday, February 24, 2009) in the Ursprung Gymnasium in Berea. The defending OAC Tournament champion Yellow Jackets advance to play Muskingum College in the Final Four on Friday night.

In addition to Butzer for B-W, sophomore guard Amanda Schroeder (Columbus Grove) had 14 points. Junior forward Serena Farage (Medina/ Buckeye) had a game-high 11 rebounds. Otterbein was led by senior guard Laura Roth with a game-high 24 points. In addition, junior forward Katie Miller had 16 points.

With its win, B-W improves to 20-6 overall, has won three straight games this season and five in a row against the Cardinals. In addition, the 20 victories gives B-W its 12th 20-win campaign in the last 13 years. With its loss, Otterbein ends its season at 12-14 overall.

In the first half, the Cardinals jumped out to an 11-4 lead at the 14:04 mark on the strength of nine points by Miller. B-W came right back to outscore Otterbein 9-2 via three three-pointers with the last by senior All-OAC guard Rachael Quiring (Brunswick/ Holy Name) at the 10:57 mark to tie the score at 13-13.

Otterbein then went on its own 9-2 run to regain its seven-point lead at 22-15 with 5:11 left when junior forward Carla Lewis made a jump shot in the lane. Undaunted, B-W went on a 10-2 run to take its first lead at 25-24 with 3:23 left when senior three-time All-OAC guard Amanda Mondrach (Parma/ Holy Name) made a jumper. After the Cardinals scored to go ahead 26-25, BW junior Academic All-OAC center Ariel Brough (Powell/ Olentangy-Liberty) grabbed an offensive rebound and scored with 1.5 seconds left to give the Jackets the lead at 27-26 at the intermission                                                             

In the second half, B-W scored the first four points to build its largest lead at five points at 31-26 when Mondrach drove the lane and scored. Otterbein then outscored BW 11-4 to retake the lead at 37-35 when Roth scored on a lay up, was fouled and made the free throw at 14:26.

Following ties at 37-37 and 39-39, the teams traded the lead six times with Otterbein finally gaining a 49-46 lead when Miller scored on a layup at the 8:16 mark. B-W came right back with a 7-0 run to retake the lead at 53-49 when Brough made two foul shots. After the teams traded baskets four times and with B-W leading 62-58, Otterbein outscored the Jackets 6-2 to tie it again at 64-64 with 1:18 left when Roth canned a long three-pointer.

B-W regained the lead at 66-64 when Schroeder canned two foul shots at 1:05. Roth tied it at 66-66 with a driving basket at 58.14 seconds.  Schroeder gave the lead back to B-W with two more  foul shots with 42 seconds left.  Lewis tied it again at 68-68 with 26.55 seconds with a jumper. That set up Butzer's winning shot. She also stole the Otterbein inbound pass to end the game.

The 2009 OAC Final Four takes place on Friday and Saturday, February 27-28 at the highest remaining seed follow tonight's games. If top-seeded Capital also won, the Final Four will be in Columbus with B-W playing the Muskingum-JCU winner at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and Capital playing the winner of tonight's Wilmington College at Mount Union College game on Friday at 8:00 p.m. The OAC Championship Game is on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.  The winner of the OAC Tournament receives the OAC's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

All women's basketball games are broadcast by campus radio station WBW. The away games are available on the radio at 88.3 FM and via the WBW Internet web site at www.wBW.com . Home games are available only via internet.  

FOR MORE BW SPORTS INFORMATION, please contact SID Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu and Assistant SID Jeff Miller by telephone at 440-826-2780 and e-mail atjefmille@bw.edu. Fans can access the latest BW athletics information at www.BWyellowjackets.com and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.