BEREA, Ohio  - The Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team turned a four-point halftime lead into a 87-63 victory over Ohio Athletic Conference foe Otterbein University inside Ursprung Gymnasium.

 

For the second game in a row, BW (9-6, 5-3 OAC) was led by junior All-OAC guard Hannah Fecht (Hilliard/Davidson) as she scored 19 points, including 13 in the first half. Sophomore guard Riley Schill (Sheffield Village/Elyria Catholic) also recorded double-figures with 15 points, one shy of tying her career high. Sophomore guard Kasey Hughes (Springboro) added 10 points of her own. Fecht also led the rebounding effort with a game-high tying six boards. 

 

Otterbein (7-8, 3-5 OAC) was led by senior forward Kiersten Taylor with 21 points while junior guard Jacy Jones contributed 12 points. 

 

BW struggled to hit from the three point line to begin the game, missing its first five treys. Despite the three-point struggles, the Yellow Jackets made their way into the paint and made three of their first four field goals via the layup. Transfer sophomore guard/forward Mary Schentur (Broadview Heights/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) finally hit from downtown with 3:01 left in the first quarter to give BW a 12-8 lead. On defense, the Yellow Jackets forced four straight turnovers in the midst of a 8-0 run to go up 16-8. Otterbein finally broke the string of turnovers and finished the quarter on a small 5-2 run but BW still began the second period with an 18-13 lead. 

 

Otterbein continued with its small momentum swing and only trailed by one point, 18-17, at the 7:55 mark. However, Fecht found her shooting stroke, scoring BW's first 11 points in the period and opening up a nine point lead with 5:38 remaining in the half. The Cardinals quietly went on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit down to just three points, 31-28, with 1:38 left but, every time the Cardinals scored at the end of the half, sophomore guard/forward Kara Marshall (Copley/Akron Archbishop Hoban) quickly answered, giving BW a 35-31 lead at halftime. 

 

Junior Academic All-OAC forward Rachel Womeldorf (Lewis Center/Olentangy) opened up the second half by beating the Cardinals down the floor for two easy layups. Meanwhile, BW took its first double-digit lead of the game at 46-35 with 6:22 remaining when junior Academic All-OAC guard MacKenzi Matthews (North Royalton) cut through a wide open lane for a layup off a nice feed from senior forward Megan Schubert (Defiance/Ayersville). The Yellow Jackets continued to average a double-digit lead for most of the quarter. Hughes drained a three-pointer with less than a minute remaining to put BW up 63-46 heading into the final period.

 

A 6-2 start to the fourth quarter gave BW a 21-point lead with 8:21 left in the game and the offense never lost its rhythm, outscoring the Cardinals 24-17 in the period to seal a 87-63 victory. 

 

BW will travel to the other side of Cleveland to take on OAC and crosstown rival John Carroll University on Wednesday, January 17, at 7:30 p.m. inside the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.