UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team withstood a fourth quarter push by Ohio Athletic Conference and crosstown rival John Carroll University, holding on for an 82-71 victory inside the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.
BW (10-6, 6-3 OAC) saw four players find double figures, led by sophomore guard Riley Schill (Sheffield Village/Elyria Catholic) with a career-high 17 points . Senior Academic All-OAC guard Katie Smith (Fairview Park/Fairview) scored 13 points. Sophomore guard Kasey Hughes (Springboro) poured in 12 points while junior All-OAC guard Hannah Fecht (Hilliard/Davidson) contributed 11 points of her own.
John Carroll (4-12, 2-7 OAC) had five players in double digits, led by freshman guard Nicole Heffington with a game-high 22 points. Junior forward Chelbi Graham and sophomore guard Sarah Sprecher each scored 12 points while junior guard Kahrin Spear and freshman guard/forward Abby Adler both contributed 10 points apiece.
Both teams got off to a slow start but BW began to find its rhythm when junior Academic All-OAC forward Rachel Womeldorf (Lewis Center/Olentangy) hit a jumper with 2:59 left in the game, giving the Yellow Jackets an 8-4 lead. Freshman forward Sydney Diedrich (Chardon/Gilmour Academy) provided a lift off the bench as she scored six points in the final 2:30 of the period and BW led 19-12 going into the second quarter.
BW went off on a 6-0 run to begin the quarter, taking its first double-digit lead of the game at 25-12 with 7:16 remaining in the half. Both teams traded baskets for most of the period but the Yellow Jackets were able to maintain that double-digit advantage. John Carroll closed out the half on a strong note, however, and brought the game within nine points, 34-25, at halftime.
Coming out of the locker room, the Yellow Jackets erupted on offense, scoring 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting and 5-of-6 from beyond the three point arc. Smith, Hughes and Fecht all hit from deep in the quarter and BW went into the final period leading 61-43.
John Carroll would not go down quietly as the Blue Streaks went on a 15-3 run and cut the lead down to just six points, 64-58, with 5:00 left in the game. Schill scored 10 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter to keep BW in the game. Although John Carroll outscored the Yellow Jackets 28-21 in the final period, BW hung on for an 82-71 victory.
With the first half of the conference schedule concluded, BW sits in third place behind Ohio Northern University (15-1, 9-0 OAC) and Marietta College (15-1, 8-1 OAC).
BW will begin the second half of its OAC schedule when the Yellow Jackets host Muskingum University for a men's and women's doubleheader on Saturday, January 20, inside Ursprung Gymnasium. The women tip off at 2 p.m. and the men will follow at approximately 4 p.m.
