ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Baldwin Wallace University junior All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC guard Riley Schill (Sheffield Village/Elyria Catholic) was named Most Valuable Player of the Chuck Resler Invitation as the women's basketball team won the tournament, hosted by the University of Rochester (N.Y.), by defeating Babson (Mass.) College 66-52 in non-conference action inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.
In the three-team tournament format, BW (3-0) captures the invitational title with its 2-0 record. Neither Rochester nor Babson (0-1) can finish better than 1-1 as the two teams still have yet to play on Sunday, Nov. 18.
Schill put up a season-high and game-high tying 18 points and team-high eight rebounds to lead BW (3-0). Junior Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference guard Kasey Hughes (Springboro) was the next leading scorer as she registered all 11 of her points in the first half while sophomore forward Sydney Diedrich (Chardon/Gilmour Academy) posted her first double-digit scoring effort of the year with 10 points.
Senior forward Payton Ouimette was the sole player to record double figures for Babson (0-1) as she had a double-double of a game-high tying 18 points and game-high 13 rebounds.
Hughes got the game started on the right foot as she propelled BW to an early advantage with the Yellow Jackets' first five points. After both teams traded field goals and small leads, BW knocked down three consecutive three-pointers to jump ahead 17-11 with 2:57 remaining. Babson would always stay within a few possessions and only trailed 19-15 after 10 minutes of play.
A three-pointer from senior two-time All-OAC guard/forward Hannah Fecht (Hilliard/Davidson) opened the second quarter before both teams' defenses began to have an impact. Two separate scoreless stretches that totaled over five minutes dominated the action until Schill hit the first of two BW treys with less than 30 seconds on the clock to send the Yellow Jackets into the locker room with a 31-22 lead.
The BW defense remained stout after halftime as the Beavers could not make a field goal until the 5:09 mark of the third quarter. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets were able to build up to a 15-point lead at 39-24 during that span. Once Babson was able to recover on offense, the Beavers outscored BW 12-9 to finish the period but still trailed by 14 points when the quarter buzzer sounded.
Schill began to take over the game as she scored eight of her 18 points in the final 10 minutes, including five straight to open the Yellow Jackets' scoring in the fourth. Babson hung with BW but the five-minute scoreless stretch in the third period proved to be the Beavers downfall as the closest they could come was within 10 points at 61-51. Five-of-six shooting from the free throw line with just over one minute remaining sealed up the victory for the Yellow Jackets.
Following the completion of the game, Schill, Fecht and Diedrich were named to the All-Tournament Team for their performances.
BW will host Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) College for the team's home opener on Sunday, Nov. 25, at 3 p.m. inside Ursprung Gymnasium in the Lou Higgins Center.
