By Athletic Communications Assistant Alex McKeon
BEREA, Ohio – Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball delivered a strong statement on the back end of the home-and-home series against the University of Mount Union, winning 66-43 on Saturday night. The win delivers them a sweep of the season series with the Purple Raiders.
The Yellow Jackets (2-0, 2-0 OAC) improved their all-time record against the Purple Raiders (0-2, 0-2 OAC) to 53-43 overall, winning their sixth straight game in the series. The victory also extended the overall team winning streak to 16 wins in a row, dating back to the streak starter on January 25, 2020 against Marietta College.
Senior Gabby Garrett (Columbus/Bishop Watterson) continued her electric start to the season, matching her career-high in points that she set the night before with 22 points, along with six rebounds and two assists. Juniors Megan Scheibelhut (Avon Lake/Elyria Catholic) and Sydney Snyder (Kirtland) scored in double figures for the Yellow Jackets, while junior Lilly Edwards (Dublin/Coffman) fell just one point shy of back-to-back double-doubles, finishing with nine points and 10 rebounds. Brianna Gassman and Elena Rauhe each tallied 11 points to lead the scoring for the Purple Raiders.
Scoring proved challenging to come by for both teams in the first half. The Yellow Jackets and Purple Raiders traded shots in the first quarter, with Garrett and Edwards combining for nine of the 13 first quarter points by the Yellow Jackets, who held a one-point advantage after one quarter.
The Yellow Jackets opened the second quarter on an 8-1 run and didn't look back. BW played lockdown defense the entire quarter, holding Mount Union to just three points and no field goals, extending the lead to 25-15 at halftime. Garrett proved dominant the entire half, tallying 12 points to lead all scorers and nearly outscoring the Purple Raiders on her own. Key three-pointers by Garrett and Snyder helped jump start the Yellow Jacket offense that came out red-hot in the third.
BW shot 50% from the floor in the third quarter, including two buckets from freshman Kira Philpot (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) who finished with six points and four rebounds in her second collegiate game. A 9-2 opening quarter run helped contain the Purple Raiders and allowed the Yellow Jackets to extend their lead to 48-32 by the end of the third quarter.
Another lockdown defensive quarter helped put the game away for the Yellow Jackets, who held Mount Union to just 25% shooting from the field. Scheibelhut showed off her three-point range as a part of a five point and two rebound fourth quarter performance.
The Yellow Jackets will return to action on Friday, January 29 with their second straight home game, this time against Marietta College. The Yellow Jackets will tip off the front end of the home-and-home series at Ursprung Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m.
