ROCHESTER, New York -- Four Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball players scored in double figures as the Yellow Jackets defeated Medaille (N.Y.) University, 72-57, in the consolation game of the Chuck Resler Tournament hosted by the University of Rochester in the Louis Alexander Palestra.
BW (1-1) was led by junior Academic All-Ohio Athletic conference guard Audrey Smolik (Strongsville) who scored a game-high tying 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Senior All-OAC guard Jessica Lairson (Louisville), who was selected to the all-tournament team, tallied 14 points and sophomore guard Alissa Munro (Mansfield/Lexington) scored 12 points and shot 3-of-6 from three-point land. Senior forward Lexi Rohrbach (Tiffin/Columbian) had her first double-double of the season as she scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Mavericks were led by Joelle Pollak with a game-high tying 16 points and Morgan Howe added 13 points. Danielle Reinwald grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
In the first half, the two teams battled back and forth in the first 11 minutes as the game would be tied on seven separate occasions with the last coming at 17-17 on a layup by Medaille's Brittnee Perry.
The Yellow Jackets would closed the opening half by outscoring the Mavericks 25-12 and take a 42-29 lead into the intermission. During the run, Munro led the way counted for 10 points, including making three straight treys, and Lairson and Rohrbach each added four points.
Medaille would open the second half on 11-2 run to cut the BW lead to four points at 44-40 on a traditional three-point play by Howe at 15:49. The Yellow Jackets responded with a 10-2 run of their own to extend the lead to 54-42 on a three-pointer by Lairson at 9:32.
The Mavericks would not come any closer than seven points at 54-47 at the 7:53 mark. BW would push its lead to as many as 17 points on three occasions with the last coming at 72-55 with 17 seconds left in the game.
The Yellow Jackets forced 21 Medaille turnovers and scored 30 points off those turnovers to key the 72-57 victory.
BW opens the home portion of its schedule on Tuesday, November 19 when it hosts Cleveland cross-town rival Case Western Reserve University in the first game of a women's and men's doubleheader in the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center at 6 p.m. The men's game is scheduled to tip-off at 8:00 p.m.
The Yellow Jackets then host BW Invitational Tournament on Friday and Saturday, November 22 and 23. On Friday, BW opens play against Defiance College at 6 pm and Calvin (Mich.) College and Ohio Wesleyan University play at 8 pm. The consolation and championship games are on Saturday at 2 and 4 pm, respectively.
FOR MORE BW SPORTS INFORMATION, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu or Assistant SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at jefmille@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.
