By: Athletic Communications Student Assistant Joe Meyer '24

BEREA, Ohio - The No. 13/17 nationally ranked and third-seeded Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team pulled away late en route to a 73-62 win over crosstown rival and sixth-seeded John Carroll University in an Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinal in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center. 

BW (22-4, 14-4 OAC) was led by graduate All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Megan Hensel (Upper Sandusky), as she tallied a game-high 18 points and six rebounds, including a 9-of-10 clip from the charity stripe. Junior guard Carolyn Wochele (Mentor) also cracked double figures, adding a career-high 15 points and four rebounds off the bench. Ten different Yellow Jackets etched their names into the scoring columns, and the BW bench outscored JCU's bench 32-14. 

John Carroll (13-13, 8-10 OAC) was led by junior guard Hallie Landes, as she recorded a team-high 17 points. Freshman forward Ava Ryncarz was the only other Blue Streak to reach double figures, tallying 14 points and four rebounds in the losing effort.

FIRST HALF

• BW led early, but JCU closed the first quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 15-9 lead heading into the second quarter.
• The Yellow Jackets battled back with a 15-5 run to retake the lead with 5:16 left in the half.
• With time running down in the first second, Wochele exploded for eight points in just over two minutes, the last of which put BW up 30-29.
• Fueled by a 26-point second quarter, the Yellow Jackets took a 35-34 lead into the locker room. 

SECOND HALF

• Sophomore guard Emily Irwin (Pickerington/Pataskala Watkins Memorial) knocked down a heavily contested corner three to extend the lead to 46-41 with 3:55 to go in the third.
• The Yellow Jackets took a 50-45 lead into the fourth quarter.
• With BW leading by four with 5:56 to play, Wochele's third three-pointer of the evening restored momentum and extended the lead to 63-56.
• Senior guard Regan Schill (Sheffield Village/Elyria Catholic) finished at the rim to extend the lead to nine (66-57) with just over two minutes remaining.
• BW outscored JCU 13-6 over the final six minutes and shot 7-of-8 from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the Yellow Jackets' third OAC tournament win over the Blue Streaks in the past four years.

The Yellow Jackets return to the court on Thursday, February 23, as they hit the road for a matchup against second-seeded Marietta College in the OAC Tournament Semifinals. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. inside the Ban Johnson Arena.