BEREA, Ohio – Sophomore guard/forward Alissa Munro (Mansfield/Lexington) scored a career-high 17 points as the Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team defeated Defiance College, 87-55, in the first round of the BW Invitational in the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
The 87 points was the second time this week that BW (3-1) scored 85 or more points. BW scored 89 points on Tuesday night in its home-opening victory against Case Western Reserve University.
BW will play the winner of tonight's second game between the Calvin (Mich.) College Knights and the Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops in the championship game at 4 p.m.. Defiance (1-1) will play the loser in the consolation game at 2 p.m.
In addition to Munro for BW, senior All-Ohio Athletic Conference guard Jessica Lairson (Louisville) scored 15 points. Defiance was led by Kelsey Tietje as she recorded a double-double with a game-high 25 points and a game-best 10 rebounds.
In the first, half BW would open up an early 12-6 lead when sophomore forward Sam Hamar (Galion) scored on a layup at 16:35. Defiance would cut the lead down to three points at 15-12 when Ashley Birchmeier connected on a pair of free throws at 13:51.
BW would go on a 22-5 run over the next 10 minutes to take a 20-point lead at 37-17 on a jumper by Audrey Smolik (Strongsville) with 4:18 remaining in the opening period. Defiance would score the final four points of the half both on jumpers by Birchmeier to trail 37-21 at the intermission.
After a pair of layups by Lairson and free throw from senior center Lexi Rohrbach (Tiffin/Columbian) to start the second, Defiance would go on a 12-0 to cut the lead down to 42-30 at the 15:54 mark. BW would push its lead back t0 19-points at 54-35 on a three-pointer from Munro.
Defiance would cut the lead down to 16 points on three occasions with the last coming at 61-45 on a pair of free throws by Tietje with 8:32 remaining. BW would outscore Defiance 24-10 over the remainder of the game and took its largest lead of the game of 35-points at 85-50 on the first career three-pointer by freshman guard Syndey Clark (Parma/Lake Ridge Acadmey) with 2:34 remaining.
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