ADA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team fell 53-46 to Ohio Northern University in Ohio Athletic Conference action inside the ONU Sports Center.
Junior Academic All-OAC guard/forward Mary Schentur (Broadview Heights/Brecksville-Broadview heights) led the way for BW (10-4, 4-3 OAC) with 11 points. Freshman forward Lilly Edwards (Dublin/Coffman) chipped in 10 points off the bench while sophomore forward Sydney Diedrich (Chardon/Gilmour Academy) pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds off the glass.
Sophomore guard Emily Brock scored 16 points for Ohio Northern (9-5, 3-4 OAC) in the victory. Senior guard Jenna Dirksen added 10 points of her own as the only other double-digit scorer.
After junior Academic All-OAC guard Kasey Hughes (Springboro) got the Yellow Jackets on the scoreboard with a layup, it took a while for both teams' offenses to warm up. Sophomore guard Gabby Garrett (Columbus/Bishop Watterson) completed an and-one play with 3:28 remaining that gave BW an 8-6 lead but the Polar Bears answered to tie the game on the very next possession. Back-to-back three-pointers from Schentur and junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Riley Schill (Sheffield Village/Elyria Catholic) opened up a five-point lead but Ohio Northern took advantage of free points from the charity stripe to remain within three points, 16-13, at the end of the period.
Defense was the mark of the second quarter as the Yellow Jackets' lockdown defense limited the Polar Bears to just two points with their lone bucket coming at the 6:12 mark. Meanwhile, Ohio Northern's defense was able to hold BW scoreless for three separate spans of over two minutes. A Schentur three-pointer opened up the Yellow Jackets' first double-digit lead of the game while freshman guard Sydney Snyder (Kirtland) beat the halftime buzzer from the top of the key, ending the half with a 30-15 BW lead.
Ohio Northern opened up the second half hot, going off on a 7-0 run before Schill could put an end to things with a layup. Two Polar Bear treys cut the Yellow Jacket lead down to four points, 34-30, with 4:26 left on the clock. BW found more of a rhythm on offense toward the end of the period after Schentur three-pointer reestablished an eight-point lead at 40-32 but it was the Polar Bears' turn for a three-point buzzer beater at the end of the third quarter.
A 6-0 run to start the final period gave Ohio Northern its first lead of the game since the halfway point of the first quarter. After both teams briefly traded small leads, the Polar Bears used a 5-0 run to regain the lead for good. The Yellow Jackets did not go down without a fight as Edwards sank a layup with 27 seconds left, cutting the deficit down to three points. Ohio Northern was clutch from the free throw line, making all four attempts to seal the victory.
BW returns to the friendly confines of Ursprung Gymnasium on Saturday, Jan. 12, when the Yellow Jackets host Wilmington College in OAC action at 3 p.m.
