UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – The No. 11 nationally-ranked Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team traveled crosstown to face No. 12 nationally-ranked John Carroll University in a huge OAC matchup on Mike Moran Court inside Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.
The first half was a lot of back-and-forth play, with BW (10-3, 7-1 OAC) shooting 9-30 (30%) from the field as a team and JCU (12-2, 7-1 OAC) shooting 15-33 (45.5%). JCU notched 26 of their 33 first-half points from in the paint. The Yellow Jackets knocked down two shots from deep, one from senior Academic All-OAC forward Megan Scheibelhut (Avon Lake/Elyria Catholic) and one from freshman guard Emily Irwin (Pickerington/Watkins Memorial). Scheibelhut led all scorers in the first half with 11 points. The Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Blue Streaks in the first half 23-19, but JCU grabbed the edge in points, earning a 33-26 halftime lead.
BW started the second half with senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC forward Lilly Edwards (Dublin/Coffman) grabbing two back-to-back buckets. Battling their way all the back to close the gap to just one point and shifting the momentum, it forced the Blue Streaks to take a timeout (44-43, 3:41).
A huge three from deep range and a layup from senior Academic All-OAC guard Megan Hensel (Upper Sandusky) earned BW its first lead of the game at the 0:32 mark in the third. A layup by JCU sent the teams into the fourth quarter, the Blue Streaks with the 49-48 advantage.
With a bucket-for-bucket fourth quarter, BW forced JCU into foul trouble. The Yellow Jackets had a few missed free throws and a few turnovers to find themselves down six with just 31 seconds left (66-60). A huge three-pointer by sophomore guard Carolyn Wochele (Mentor) brought them back within three. Another few free throws from JCU and a layup by Hensel kept the difference at three points with 14 seconds left. Two missed free throws by the Blue Streaks gave BW a tie-breaking three-point buzzer opportunity. With the miss, JCU earned the huge 68-65 win over the Yellow Jackets.
The Blue Streaks were led by graduate student All-OAC and Academic All-OAC forward Nicole Heffington as she totaled 18 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC center Olivia Nagy also tallied 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Scheibelhut and Hensel led BW, each tallying 11 points. Scheibelhut also added five rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Edwards notched a double-double, as she tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds. Wochele posted four assists to go with her three points. Senior guard Emily Lyon (Wadsworth/Highland) finished with seven points, five steals, four rebounds, and two assists. Freshman forward Caely Ressler (Napoleon) earned eight rebounds and four points.
BW is back in action this Saturday, January 22 as the Yellow Jackets play in the first game of a women's and men's doubleheader against Wilmington College. The OAC matchup will start at 2:00 p.m. in Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
