WESTERVILLE, Ohio - The No. 12 nationally-ranked Baldwin Wallace University women's basktball team wrapped up its regular season slate with an Ohio Athletic Conference road win against Otterbein University by a final score of 68-50 in the Rike Center.
With the win, BW (23-2, 17-1 OAC) secures the season sweep against Otterbein (12-13, 7-11 OAC), and improves its all-time record versus the Cardinals to 60-31. The Yellow Jackets extended its win streak to a season-high nine games, while remaining a perfect 12-0 at home. The impressive overall win streak is the program's longest since beginning the 2016-17 season with 11 victories in a row.
By clinching the top seed in the OAC with Wednesday's win over the University of Mount Union, along with the completion of today's league action, BW will face off against the eighth-seeded Otterbein for the second straight game in the 2020 OAC Tournament Quarterfinals, and have secured home-court advantage throughout conference postseason play.
The Yellow Jackets offense was led by four scorers in double-figures. Senior Academic All-OAC guard/forward Kara Marshall (Copley/Akron Archbishop Hoban) scored a game-high 15 points, and included three rebounds and three assists. Senior All-OAC guard/forward Hannah Fecht (Hilliard/Davidson) chipped in with 12 points, a game-high seven boards, one block and one steal. Junior forward Sydney Diedrich (Chardon/Gilmour Academy) was the highest point-getter off the bench for BW, pouring in 10 points, to go along with three rebounds, two steals, and one block in the victory.
The Cardinals attack was spearheaded by sophomore guard Jenna Hoschouer and senior forward Abbie Scholz. Hoschouer scored a team-high 13 points, and added six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Meanwhile Scholz garnered 10 points, seven boards, one steal, and one block in the defeat.
The game's first seven minutes featured teetered efforts from the two adversaries, as they exchanged baskets early on. BW was able to construct a 13-0 run in the final 3:42 of the first quarter, before an Otterbein layup in the closing seconds of the frame.
The second quarter began much like the first, with a back-and-fourth tempo that left BW's early lead unscathed. However, from 7:52-2:06, the Cardinals began their ascent to striking distance, embarking on a 12-4 run and cutting the deficit to five just before heading to the break.
The third period featured a defensive battle, as both teams shot low percentages and combined for a mere 21 points altogether. Despite a sluggish 20 percent shooting from the field, the Yellow Jackets were able to cling on to a four-point cushion ahead of the final quarter of the regular season.
It took until the 5:58 mark of the fourth period and for the Cardinals to come within one point of tying the game, but BW had finally refound its groove offensively. The Yellow Jackets used a colossal 17-2 run to end the game and its season on a positive note with a home win.
BW will return to action for the aforementioned OAC Tounament Quarterfinals on Tuesday, February 25 when it hosts the first game of a men and women's basketball double-header versus Otterbein in Ursprung Gymnasium at 6:00 p.m.
