WILMINGTON, Ohio – Baldwin Wallace University freshman forward Megan Scheibelhut's (Avon Lake/Elyria Catholic) career performance led the Yellow Jackets to a 78-74 overtime Ohio Athletic Conference victory over Wilmington College inside Fred Raizk Arena.
Scheibelhut was the leading scorer and rebounder for BW (16-5, 10-4 OAC) off the bench with career highs of 14 points and nine boards in the victory. Junior Academic All-OAC guard Kasey Hughes (Springboro) also scored 14 points of her own. Junior Academic All-OAC guard/forward Kara Marshall (Copley/Archbishop Hoban) and freshman forward Lilly Edwards (Dublin/Coffman) added 11 and 10 points, respectively, to round out the double-digit scorers.
Freshman guard Kennedy Lewis put up a game-high 17 points in the loss for the Quakers (10-11, 5-9 OAC). Senior guard Savannah Hooper and sophomore guards McKayla Binkley and Hannah Binkley chipped in 13 points apiece. Sophomore center Faith Teaford was the game's leading rebounder with 14 boards, including six on the offensive glass.
Continuing the momentum from Thursday's hot second half against Ohio Northern University, the BW offense was on fire to start the game, shooting 64.3 percent from the floor in the first quarter. Two separate runs of seven and eight points gave the Yellow Jackets a 20-9 lead with 3:06 remaining. However, Wilmington closed out the period on a strong 9-3 run of its own, cutting the deficit down to five points at 23-18.
The second quarter was nip and tuck as the Quakers got within one point, 25-24, at the 8:06 mark. However, three layups from three different players put BW back ahead by seven points, capped off by Hughes hitting double digit points with 4:52 left on the clock. Both teams then traded baskets for the remainder of the half for a 37-31 Yellow Jacket lead.
Wilmington scored the first points of the second half while the Quaker defense held the Yellow Jackets scoreless for almost three minutes. Once junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Riley Schill (Sheffield Village/Elyria Catholic) found the bottom of the net, the lid came off. BW poured in six points in a minute followed by a three pointer on the wing from senior Academic All-OAC guard MacKenzi Matthews (North Royalton), regaining a double-digit lead at 46-35. Wilmington used the three-point shot to get back into the game but the Yellow Jackets held a 55-49 advantage heading into the final period.
A 9-0 run in the middle of the fourth quarter helped the Quakers build up to their biggest lead of the game at 62-59 with 3:29 left on the clock. After Marshall finally put an end to the run, Wilmington ripped off five more points to lead 67-61 at the 2:03 mark. Scheibelhut stepped up when her team needed her and made an old-fashioned three-point play to swing momentum while Schill followed with a three-pointer, tying the game at 67-67 to force overtime.
The Quakers got on the scoreboard first in the extra period but Scheibelhut came up with another big three-point play, regaining a one-point lead for the Yellow Jackets. Sophomore forward Sydney Diedrich (Chardon/Gilmour Academy) then stepped up and drained a trey at the top of the key before Wilmington opened up a 5-0 run for its final lead of the game with 3:48 left. Marshall put BW ahead for good with a layup while she and Scheibelhut hit from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the 78-74 victory.
BW takes on OAC leader and crosstown rival John Carroll University on Wednesday, Feb. 6, at 7 p.m. inside the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.
