Complete WBCA Top-25 Poll (.pdf) | Complete D3hoops.com Top-25 Poll (.pdf)
BEREA, Ohio - The Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team jumped to No. 11 in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and No. 12 in the D3hoops.com Top-25 National Polls after going 2-0 in Ohio Athletic Conference play last week.
The Yellow Jackets, who were slated at No. 14 and No. 19 in the two polls last week, put together a pair of victories over No. 10 nationally ranked Ohio Northern University and Muskingum University to improve to 20-3 overall and 13-3 in league play.
In the huge top-15 rematch contest with the Polar Bears, BW trailed by as many as 12 points with 7:36 left to go in the game. Clutch three pointers by junior guard Carolyn Wochele (Mentor) and junior guard/forward Sylvie Sonneman (Jamestown/Greenview) put the game within six points before a huge shot beyond the arc by graduate All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Megan Hensel (Upper Sandusky) put the Yellow Jackets ahead 49-48 with two minutes left.
Down two with 40 seconds left, a big three in the corner by Wochele put the Yellow Jackets in control before two missed opportunities for the Polar Bears forced them to foul. A layup by ONU tied the game and forced overtime. Another huge three by Hensel with 45 seconds left in overtime and a couple misses by ONU clinched the big 66-62 overtime victory for the Yellow Jackets.
In that game, BW was led by Hensel as she tallied a team-high 13 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Bella Vaillant (Perrysburg) and sophomore guard Emily Irwin (Pickerington/Pataskala Watkins Memorial) each posted 12 points while Vaillant added six board and Irwin added three assists.
Against Muskingum, the Yellow Jackets were just up two points on the Fighting Muskies in the third quarter before BW sparked a 26-9 run to go into the fourth. Winning 69-44, the Yellow Jackets were led by Vaillant as totaled 11 points and six rebounds. Wochele added another nine points.
BW is accompanied by one other OAC school in the polls, with Ohio Northern University being slated at No. 11 in the D3hoops.com poll and No. 13 in the WBCA poll.
The Yellow Jackets return to play on Wednesday, February 15 as they travel to University Heights to take on crosstown rival John Carroll University in an OAC contest. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. on the Mike Moran Court inside the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.
