ALLIANCE, Ohio – The No. 14 nationally-ranked Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team earned its third straight win with a 71-49 Ohio Athletic Conference rout against University of Mount Union in the McPherson Academic & Athletic Complex.
BW (11-1, 5-0 OAC) reached the half-century mark in the win column for historical clashes with Mount Union (6-6, 0-5 OAC), improving its all-time record against the Purple Raiders to 50-43. BW is off to its best start since the 2016-17 season, where it also began with an 11-1 record. Furthermore, with its perfect 5-0 conference record still in tact, the Yellow Jackets are the lone OAC team left without a conference loss, and currently reside atop the OAC standings.
BW's offense was led by three scorers in double-figures. Sophomore All-OAC forward Lilly Edwards (Dublin/Coffman) contributed off the bench with a game-high 18 points. Senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Kasey Hughes (Springboro) added 11 points, a steal, and two blocks, while junior guard Gabby Garrett (Columbus/Bishop Watterson) provided another spark off the bench with 10 points, three rebounds, and two assists in the victory.
The Mount Union attack was spearheaded by junior guard Elena Rauhe, as she was the lone Purple Raider double-digit scorer with a team-high 13 points, to go along with three boards in the defeat.
After giving up a three-pointer to Mount Union to open the game's scoring, BW embarked on a 12-2 run to end the first quarter. The Yellow Jackets played tremendous defense in the first frame, limiting the Purple Raiders to just 20% percent shooting and allowing a season quarter-low five points. Then, with the aid of a 20-3 run, BW exploded for a season quarter-high 34 points in the second, and included a scorching 66.7 percent shooting. The Yellow Jackets held a comfortable 23-point lead headed to halftime.
BW picked up right where it left off at the start of the second half, padding its sizeable lead even more with an 11-2 run to begin the third quarter. After a relatively consistent exchange of baskets in the fourth quarter, BW was able to use its lead to coast through the fourth quarter unscathed, and earn the valuable OAC victory.
The Yellow Jackets will return to the court on Saturday, January 11 for a first-place OAC showdown against Otterbein University in Ursprung Gymnasium at 3:00 p.m.
