NEW CONCORD, Ohio – Junior All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC forward Audrey Smolik (Strongsville) scored a game-high 14 points as the Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team defeated OAC rival Muskingum University, 70-46, in an OAC game in the Muskingum HPER Center. The victory kept BW in first place in the OAC and was its sixth in its last seven games.
BW, now 12-3 overall and 7-1 in the OAC, increased its series advantage against the Fighting Muskies to 43-23, including eight straight wins and victories in 23 of the last 24 meetings. Muskingum is now 4-10 overall and 2-6 in the OAC and has lost five straight contests.
In addition to Smolik for BW, senior two-time All-OAC forward Jessica Lairson (Louisville) and junior guard Shari Mangas (Leipsic) each had 12 points and senior forward Lexi Rohrbach (Tiffin/ Columbian) had 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Muskingum was led by senior forward Meghan Billick, senior guard Tori Jarrett and freshman forward Jasmine Goings as each scored eight points.
In the first half, The teams traded baskets to forge a 6-6 tie at 14:23 when Muskingum freshman forward Jasmine Goings made a jump shot. BW took control of the game with a 12-0 run to take an 18-6 lead at 8:26 when Mangas made a jumper.
The Fighting Muskies came right back with a 10-0 run of their own to make it an 18-16 score at 3:43 when sophomore guard Angela Darnley canned a jumper. That is when Lairson took the game over and scored eight straight points, including two three-pointers with the last coming at 1:44, as BW gained a 26-16 lead.
Muskingum's Billiock scored four straight points to cut the deficit to 26-20 with 57 seconds left before halftime, but BW's Rohrbach added four straight foul shots and the Yellow Jackets led 30-20 at the intermission.
In the second half, Muskingum scored six of the first eight points, including six straight to cut the BW lead to 32-26 with 17:32 left when senior guard Gabbi Davis made her second straight layup. BW regained its 12-points lead at 38-26 at 15:22 when sophomore guard Janaya Feaster (Akron/ Archbishop Hoban) made a layup, was fouled and made the free throw for a three-point play.
The Yellow Jackets' lead continued to grow the rest of the way and to a high of 25 points on three separate occassions with the last with 42 seconds left freshman guard Jessa Gilberto (Naples, Fla/ Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit) made a jumper.
BW is back in action on Wednesday, January 22 when the Yellow Jackets travel to Tiffin, Ohio to play OAC-rival Heidelberg University in the Seiberling Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m. The next home game is on Saturday, Jan. 25 when the Yellow Jackets host Capital University at 3:00 p.m.
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.
