By: Athletic Communications Student Assistant Joe Meyer '24
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The No. 11 nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team took on La Roche (Pa.) University in a non-conference tilt. The Yellow Jackets continued their undefeated start to the season with a 68-44 win over the Redhawks.
BW (5-0) was led by sophomore guard Emily Irwin's (Pickerington/Pataskala Watkins Memorial) team-high 13 points and sophomore forward Bella Vaillant (Perrysburg), as she tallied 11 points and 5 rebounds. The BW trio of graduate All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC guard Megan Hensel (Upper Sandusky), sophomore forward Caely Ressler (Napoleon), and junior forward Sylvie Sonneman (Jamestown/Greenview) all chipped in eight points apiece for BW. In total, twelve Yellow Jackets etched their name into the scoring column in another all-around team effort.
La Roche (1-3) was led by senior guard Danajah Sanders' game-high 24 points and senior guard Machia Hairston (10 points, 6 rebounds).
First Half
- Irwin and Ressler teamed up to sink three shots from behind the arc inside the opening 3:10, giving the Yellow Jackets an early 11-4 edge.
- Irwin's driving layup in the dying seconds of the first quarter put the Yellow Jackets up 23-10.
- The Yellow Jackets' defense held La Roche off the board for the first 5:36 of the second quarter as part of a 12-0 scoring run.
- Ressler's three-pointer with 2:59 to go in the half extended the lead to 22 points (34-12).
- BW allowed just 6 points in the second quarter en route to a 37-16 halftime lead.
Second Half
- After La Roche cut the lead to 15, Vaillant scored on three consecutive possessions to give the Yellow Jackets a 47-29 advantage with 3:13 left in the third quarter.
- Hensel buried a deep three on BW's opening possession of the fourth quarter, putting the Yellow Jackets up by 19 (55-36).
- Back-to-back three-pointers from Sonneman and senior guard Izzy Andrews (Ann Arbor, Mich./Rudolf Steiner) extended the advantage to 63-38 with 4:20 remaining.
- The Yellow Jackets doubled up La Roche in the fourth quarter (16-8), to cap off the 68-48 victory.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Wednesday, November 30, when they host Heidelberg University to open OAC play. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
