NEW CONCORD, Ohio – Sophomore guard Kasey Hughes (Springboro) scored a career-high 19 points to lead the Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team to its first Ohio Athletic Conference victory, defeating Muskingum University 66-55 inside Performance Arena.
Three different Yellow Jacket players made their way into double digits. Both Hughes and junior All-OAC guard Hannah Fecht (Hilliard/Davidson) scored a game-high tying 19 points while senior Academic All-OAC guard Katie Smith (Fairview Park/Fairview) contributed 15 points of her own. Fecht led the rebounding corps as she brought down 10 boards for her sixth career double-double and her third of the season.
Muskingum (2-4, 1-2 OAC) was led by Olivia Besancon who also scored a game-high tying 19 points. Alexandra Carson scored 14 points for the Fighting Muskies and Emily Yeager contributed 12 points of her own.
Cold shooting was the mark of the first quarter as neither team found the bottom of the basket until the 6:21 mark when Kacie Leppla made a layup to open up the scoring. BW (4-3, 1-2 OAC) didn't get on the scoreboard until freshman forward Sydney Diedrich (Chardon/Gilmour Academy) sunk the second of her two free throws with 5:45 remaining while a deep three by Fecht was the Yellow Jackets first field goal with 4:24 left to take a 4-2 lead. Smith and Fecht each hit threes on consecutive trips down the court to help BW to a 15-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Hughes opened up the second quarter on a personal 5-0 run as BW took a 20-7 lead at the 7:46 mark and set a new career high with 11 points in the second quarter alone. Muskingum used a 9-0 run to slowly begin to cut into the lead, getting within eight points of the Yellow Jackets 26-18 with 2:09 remaining in the half. Fecht put an end to the run with a three-pointer while Smith and Hughes also nailed threes to build a 35-18 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, Fecht and Hughes picked up where they left off in the second quarter. However, Muskingum used the three ball to stay within 10 points of the Yellow Jackets late into the quarter. A free throw by senior forward Megan Schubert (Defiance/Ayersville) gave BW a 49-38 lead heading into the final period.
Three free throws between Fecht and Schubert gave the Yellow Jackets a 52-38 lead to start the fourth quarter while BW's defense held the Fighting Muskies scoreless for the first 2:30 of the period. Once again, Muskingum cut the lead down to 10 points at 52-42 at the 7:06 mark. Back-to-back three pointers by Hughes gave the Yellow Jackets a 16-point advantage at the 5:13 mark before a 6-0 run brought Muskingum back within 10 points. Following an offensive rebound by Diedrich, Smith drilled a three to go back up 63-50 with 2:25 remaining and the Yellow Jackets were able to hold on for the 66-55 victory.
The Yellow Jackets will return to Berea for a non-conference game with Case Western Reserve University on Monday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. inside Ursprung Gymnasium.
