TIFFIN, Ohio – The No. 21 nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team was on the road to take on Heidelberg University in the OAC opener in Seiberling Gymnasium.
Despite having 11 first-half turnovers and being outscored in two quarters, The Yellow Jackets (4-1, 1-0 OAC) rallied in the fourth quarter, outscoring Heidelberg (1-6, 0-1 OAC) 21-5 to pull away from the Student Princes and claim the 73-49 victory.
BW was led by senior All-OAC performer and Academic All-OAC forward Lilly Edwards (Dublin/Coffman) who totaled 18 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the year. Senior Academic All-OAC guard Megan Hensel (Upper Sandusky) posted 10 points and five rebounds in the first half to help the Yellow Jackets to a 35-25 first-half lead.
To start the second half, BW went on a 6-0 run to force a Heidelberg timeout. Keeping the momentum up, freshman guard Emily Irwin (Pickerington/Watkins Memorial) grabbed a steal for a breakaway layup to go up 43-25 at the 6:32 mark in the third quarter. The Student Princes found some fire which led them to outscore BW 19-9 the next six minutes and 19-17 in the third quarter.
Heading into the fourth, Irwin hit two shots and Hensel earned a steal with a transition layup to force the Student Princes to a timeout. In the first four minutes of play in the quarter, BW outscored the Student Princes 18-4. It was the Yellow Jackets the rest of the way, claiming the big 73-49 win.
BW shot 50% as a team, going 30-60. The Yellow Jackets went 9-14 (64.3%) in the fourth quarter. The Yellow Jackets limited their turnovers to just three in the second half and notched 19 points from the Student Princes' 22 turnovers.
Heidelberg was led by freshman guard Marissa Thomas who totaled 10 points and three rebounds and junior guard Lily Sweeney who posted nine points.
Hensel finished the contest with a double-double, tallying 15 points and 10 rebounds. Also grabbing double-digit points was Irwin as she notched 10 points and two steals and freshman forward Caely Ressler (Napoleon) who posted 10 points and two boards. Senior Academic All-OAC forward Megan Scheibelhut (Avon Lake/Elyria Catholic) added eight points and three rebounds.
The Yellow Jackets return to play this Saturday, December 4 as BW remains on the road to face Wilmington College. The OAC contest is set to begin at 2:00 p.m. in Hermann Court inside Fred Raizk Arena for the first game of a women's and men's doubleheader.
