By: Athletic Communications Intern Andrew Zimmerman '22
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – The No. 14 nationally-ranked Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team clinches the 2021-22 OAC Tournament Championship as they took down No. 12 nationally-ranked and OAC rival John Carroll University 60-50 inside the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.
With the win, the Yellow Jackets (21-4) punch their ticket to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball National Tournament. BW earns its eighth conference tournament title after beating the defending 2021 Tournament Champions, JCU (22-4). BW becomes the all-time leader in league tournament championship history after being tied with Capital University after the Yellow Jackets won the tournament championship in the 2019-20 season. BW also claimed the regular season title just last week (February 19). This season marks just the second OAC Championship sweep for the Yellow Jackets since the 2007-08 season, previously winning both in the 2019-20 campaign.
BW now earns its third consecutive trip to the "Big Dance" with an automatic bid, after reaching the national tournament in both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons (with no NCAA Tournament in 2021). It will be the Yellow Jackets 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which now marks them as having the most in OAC history of active teams, also previously being tied with Capital at 15.
The 2021-22 OAC All-Tournament team, which was announced immediately following today's game, included tournament Most Valuable Player Award recipient, BW senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC forward Lilly Edwards (Dublin/Coffman), as well as BW sophomore forward Kira Philpot (Cuyahoga Falls/Stow), BW freshman guard Emily Irwin (Pickerington/Watkins Memorial), John Carroll senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC center Olivia Nagy, Mount Union junior guard Emma Cannon, and Ohio Northern junior guard Jaidyn Hale.
BW was led today by Edwards as she notched another double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Irwin also tallied double digits, contributing 10 points.
John Carroll was led by Nagy who led the team with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
1st Half
- Edwards racked up the first eight points for the Yellow Jackets as the first quarter was a defensive battle for both squads
- Irwin made both FT attempts to tie the game up at 10 with two seconds left in the first quarter
- Both teams traded scores at the start of the second quarter
- JCU went on a quick 5-0 scoring run to extend their lead to 22-17
- A long range 3PT shot from Irwin and two successful Edwards FT attempts tied the game back at 22 entering the half
2nd Half
- Both squads traded scores at the beginning of the second half
- BW went on a 5-0 scoring run to extend the lead to 37-29 with two minutes left in the third quarter
- JCU made a few FT attempts to close the lead, but an Edwards 3PT shot at the buzzer brought the Yellow Jacket lead entering the fourth quarter
- JCU scored the first few baskets of the quarter to trim the Yellow Jacket lead to 40-37
- BW proceeded to go on a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 47-37 with six minutes left
- JCU added a few more scores, but the Yellow Jackets were able to build on the double-digit lead and close out the game
Both teams shot 30% from the field, but BW was able to shoot 30% from beyond the arc, while JCU could only make 18% of their 3PT shots. The Yellow Jackets also outrebounded the Blue Streaks, grabbing 46 rebounds in comparison to 34.
The 2022 NCAA DIII women's basketball selection show will air on Monday, Feb. 28 2:30 p.m. ET. You can watch it live on NCAA.com. Shortly after the show, the 64-team bracket will be live here.
When: Monday, February 28 at 2:30 p.m. EST | Where: Live on NCAA.com
The tournament will begin Friday, March 4. It will run all the way to the national championship Saturday, March 19 at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, Pa.
