Posted: Dec 04, 2013
BEREA, Ohio – Six Yellow Jackets scored in double figures led by senior center Lexi Rohrbach (Tiffin/Columbian) with a career-high 24 points as the Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team defeated No. 7 nationally-ranked Ohio Northern University in the Ohio Athletic Conference opener for both squads by a final score of 96-83 in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
The 96 points scored by the Yellow Jackets was a season-high and the most point scored since January 16, 2013 when the team beat Heidelberg by a final score of 94-55.
BW (5-1, 1-0 OAC) and Ohio Northern (4-1, 0-1 OAC) were selected the OAC winner and runner-up, respectively, in the preseason poll by the OAC Coaches.
In addition to Rohrbach, who was 11-of-13 from the field and grabbed five rebounds, junior guard Audrey Smolik (Strongsville) scored 16 points and had five rebounds. Sophomore center Sam Hamar (Galion) and freshman guard Mackenzie Colombo (Strasburg) each tallied a career-best 10 points while Hamar grabbed a career and team-high seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Janaya Feaster (Akron/Archbishop Hoban) contributed a career-high tying 10 points and senior All-OAC guard Jessica Lairson (Louisville) also had 10 points, all of which she scored in the second half, and had a career-best five assists.
The Polar Bears had five players score in double figures led by senior center Cenzie Yoder with 23 points. Junior forward Jordan Kimes had a double-double as she scored 16 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Sophomore guard Brooke Espenschied also contributed 16 and senior guard Sara Kocian and sophomore guard Carly Thomas recorded 11 and 10 points, respectively.
In the first half, BW jumped out to a 5-2 lead on a three-pointer by Colombo and a layup by Rohrbach just 53 seconds into the game.
After the game was tied at 5-5, the Yellow Jackets went on a 7-2 run to take a 12-7 lead on a layup by Colombo with 17:05 remaining. Ohio Northern would roar back and use a 6-0 run of its own to take a 13-12 lead on a jumper by junior guard Brooke Espenschied at the 14:56 mark.
BW quickly responded with a 7-0 run to take a six point lead at 19-13 on a pair of free throws from junior guard Shari Mangas (Leipsic) with 12:16 left. The Polar Bears would outscore the Yellow Jackets 10-4 over the next five minutes to tie the game at 23-23 on a layup by Kimes at 8:43.
BW would outscore Ohio Northern 15-10 over the remainder of the opening half to take a five-point lead at 38-33 into the intermission.
In the second half, the Jackets would push their lead to seven points at 44-37 on a layup by Colombo at 17:56. After a three-pointer by Smolik to push the lead to 51-44, the Polar Bears went on a 6-0 run and cut the lead to just one point at 51-50 on a traditional three-point play by Espenschied with 15:13 remaining.
BW would answer with a 4-0 run to take a five-point lead at 55-50 on a layup by Rohrbach at 14:19. Ohio Northern would outscore the Yellow Jackets 22-14 over the next eight minutes to take a 72-69 lead on a jumper by Yoder with 6:47 remaining.
BW would respond with a 6-0 run to regain the lead at 75-72 on jumper by Smolik at the 5:51 mark. The Polar Bears cut the lead back down to one point at 78-77 when Espenschied spilt a pair of free throws with 4:28 remaining. The Yellow Jackets would then go on a 7-0 run to take an eight point lead at 85-77 on a pair of free throws from Lairson at 2:51.
BW would push its lead to as many as 13 points at 96-83 as Feaster split a pair of free throws. Ohio Northern would come no closer than six points at 85-79 on a layup by Kimes with 2:37 remaining in regulation.
The Yellow Jackets will next travel to Bexley to take on the Crusaders of Capital University in an OAC game on Saturday, December 7 in the Capital Center at 3 p.m. Fans can follow the game via live stats at http://webapps.capital.edu/athletics/wbb/xlive.htm or watch it live via live video at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/capital.portal#. BW returns home on Wednesday, December 18 when it plays host to the Purple Raiders of Mount Union in the Ursprung Gymnasium at 7:30 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.
