WAVERLY, Iowa – The No. 14 nationally-ranked Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team blemished its perfect season, falling to Wartburg Holiday Tournament host institution, and No. 7 nationally-ranked Wartburg (Iowa) College by a final score of 79-48 in the Wartburg-Waverly Sports & Wellness Center.
BW (8-1) tallied the loss in its first ever matchup against Wartburg (10-1), and competed in its first game against a nationally-ranked opponent ranked since the 2019 NCAA Tournament's Second Round against No. 7 Messiah (Pa.) College. The Yellow Jackets also saw their eight-game win streak snapped, as they suffered their first loss of the season. Prior to today's action, BW was just one of 13 teams left in all of NCAA Division III women's basketball that had yet to sustain a loss this season.
The Yellow Jackets' attack was led by senior All-Ohio Athletic Conference guard/forward Hannah Fecht (Hilliard/Davidson), who was the lone player in double-figures for BW. Fecht contributed with a team-high 11 points, four rebounds, and one steal.
The Knights' offense was spearheaded by senior guard Emma Gerdes, who accumulated game-highs of 18 points, eight boards, and four dimes in the victory.
Atypical of the majority of its games this season, BW encountered a sluggish start to the game, which featured a 15-3 run for Wartburg upon tip-off. The Knights were hot in the first quarter, shooting 69.2 percent from the field. In an attempt to get out the early hole, the Yellow Jackets' Fecht drilled two three-pointers in the last minute of the first quarter to kickstart a 10-0 run for BW, which spilled into the start of the second quarter. Reluctant to relinquish their hold on the sizeable lead, Wartburg was able to generate a 14-5 run to end the first half.
The Knights continued to carry their momentum into the third quarter, garnering isolated 9-0 and 14-0 runs in the frame to pull away in the score column. The Yellow Jackets' offensive woes reappeared in the fourth quarter, shooting a mere 23.5 percent in the final period and by failing to score a point over the course of a four-minute span.
BW returns to the court tomorrow afternoon, where they will compete against the loser of tonight's matchup between Washington (Mo.) University in St. Louis and the No. 11 nationally-ranked University of Wisconsin at La Crosse. The Wartburg Holiday Tournament Consolation Game will take place at 2:00 p.m. in the Wartburg-Waverly Sports & Wellness Center.
