WILMINGTON, Ohio – The No. 21 nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace women's basketball team traveled to Wilmington College take on the Fightin' Quakers in a big OAC matchup in Hermann Court inside the Fred Raizk Arena.
The Yellow Jackets (5-1, 2-0 OAC) were led by senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC forward Lilly Edwards (Dublin/Coffman) who tallied 24 points and nine rebounds to help her team earn the big 87-59 victory over Wilmington (4-3, 1-1 OAC). Edwards had nine first-quarter points and ended the first half with 13. A big part for the BW offense and defense in the first half was senior guard Emily Lyon (Wadsworth/Highland) who posted seven points and led the team in rebounds with five, four of them being offensive, in the first 20 minutes of play. Lyon also grabbed two huge steals to cap off her performance.
With a tight first quarter, BW leading 23-17, the Yellow Jackets outscored the Quakers 19-10 in the second ten-minute period to head into halftime with a big 42-27 lead.
To start the second half, Wilmington went on a quick 8-0 run in 1:42 to force a Yellow Jacket timeout. Responding to that was Edwards as she went on a 9-0 run herself to extend the BW lead back to double digits (51-39). A big shot from downtown from sophomore forward Sylvie Sonneman (Jamestown/Greenview) forced the Quakers to take a timeout themselves, making the lead 15 points again. Outscoring Wilmington 16-6 the final 5:21 of the third opened a huge 70-46 lead for the Yellow Jackets.
Shooting 3-3 in the third and 3-4 in the fourth quarter and a game total of 10-17 from downtown, the Yellow Jackets were able to clinch the big victory over the Quakers by an 87-59 score. BW was able to capitalize on Wilmington's 23 turnovers, scoring 34 points from them. The Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Quakers 31-22, causing BW to notch 16 second-chance points to Wilmington's three.
Senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Kennedy Lewis led Wilmington with 15 points, two assists, and two rebounds. Junior Academic All-OAC guard Zahrya Bailey added 12 points for the Quakers.
It was a huge shooting day for sophomore guard Carolyn Wochele (Mentor) as she went 4-4 from deep, energizing the BW bench. Wochele also added an assist and a rebound. Scoring nine points and adding four rebounds was freshman forward Caely Ressler (Napoleon). Junior Academic All-OAC guard Izzy Andrews (Ann Arbor, Mich./Rudolf Steiner School) notched eight points and two assists.
The Yellow Jackets return to play next Sunday, December 12 as BW hosts Marietta College in a huge OAC matchup in Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m. for the first game of a women's and men's doubleheader.
