ADA, Ohio -- The No. 12 nationally-ranked Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team defeated Ohio Northern University in an Ohio Athletic Conference game by a final score of 57-47 inside the ONU Sports Center
BW (18-2, 12-1 OAC), who sweeps the season series and improves to 42-36 in the all-time series, had three players score in double figures led by senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Riley Schill (Sheffield Village/Elyria Catholic) as she scored a team-high 13 points and dished out a game-high five assists. Senior All-OAC guard/forward Hannah Fecht (Hilliard/Davidson) and senior Academic All-OAC guard/forward Kara Marshall (Copley/Akron Archbishop Hoban) each contributed 12 points.
Ohio Northern (15-4, 9-3 OAC), who suffered its first loss at home of the season and had its five game winning streak snapped, was led by senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC center Emily Mescher as she scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed a game-high tying five rebounds.
In the first quarter, the Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 6-0 lead on a layup by Marshall at the 6:38 mark. The Polar Bears scored their only points of the opening period on a three-pointer from freshman guard Brynn Serbin at 4:06. BW scored eight points over the remainder of the quarter with the last coming on a trey from Fecht with just three seconds left.
The Yellow Jackets continued its scoring run as it knocked down the first two buckets of the second quarter to push their lead to 20-3 when Fecht hit a three-pointer at the 8:19 mark. Ohio Northern cut the lead down to 23-7 on a jumper by sophomore guard Kate Iliff at 6:17. BW pushed its lead to 27-10 when Schill split a pair of free throws at the 3:11 mark. The Polar Bears outscored the Yellow Jackets, 5-2, down the stretch and trailed 29-15 at the intermission.
BW opened the third stanza on a 7-2 run to extend its lead to 36-17 when Marshall knocked down a jumper at the 8:27 mark. Ohio Northern responded with a 6-0 run to cut the lead down to 36-23 when junior forward Sydney Ward knocked down a pair of free throws at 5:37. The Yellow Jackets pushed the lead back to 41-25 when senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Kasey Hughes (Springboro) hit a pair from the charity stripe at the 3:17 mark. Both teams would each score five points the remainder of the quarter with BW holding a 46-30 advantage.
The Polar Bears opened the final quarter on a 9-2 run to cut the lead down to 48-39 on a jumper by Hale at the 7:47 mark. The Yellow Jackets answered back with a 6-2 run to push the lead to 54-41 on a layup by sophomore forward Megan Scheibelhut (Avon Lake/Elyria Catholic) at 3:59. Ohio Northern outscored BW down the stretch by a margin of 4-3 but the Yellow Jackets held on for the win.
BW is back in action on Saturday, February 8 when it hosts an OAC and Seniors' Day game against Wilmington College in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center at 3 p.m.
