By: Athletic Communications Student Assistant Joe Meyer '24
BEREA, Ohio - The No. 8 nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team kicked off the BW Invitational with a semifinal matchup against Manchester (Ind.) University in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center. The Yellow Jackets advanced to Friday's championship game with a convincing 74-36 win over the Spartans.
BW (10-0, 4-0 OAC) was led by senior all-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC guard Megan Hensel (Upper Sandusky), as she recorded a career and game-high 22 points in just 18 minutes of action. Freshman guard Kaycie Badylak (Cincinnati/Archbishop McNicholas) notched two career-highs of her own, tallying 17 points and 5 rebounds. Sophomore forward Caely Ressler (Napoleon) led all players on the boards, chipping in 9 rebounds and 7 points. In total, 12 Yellow Jackets entered their names into the scoring column in an all-around team effort.
BW made a season-high 14 three-pointers, the third-highest total in program history, and shot 13-of-23 (57%) from behind the arc during the opening three quarters of the game. The BW defense was equally impressive, forcing 20 turnovers and holding the Spartans to a 19% clip from the field.
Manchester (5-5, 2-2 HCAC) was led by freshman guard Maddison Smith, as she notched team-highs in both points (10) and rebounds (7).
FIRST HALF
- Despite a slow start, BW took a 12-8 lead into the second quarter.
- The Yellow Jackets capped off a 20-2 run by scoring the first 11 points of the second quarter, extending the lead to 23-8.
- Three-pointers from Ressler and junior guard Carolyn Wochele (Mentor) put BW up 29-13 at the 3:48 mark.
- BW outscored Manchester 26-7 during the second quarter en route to a 38-15 halftime lead.
- Five different Yellow Jackets connected from beyond the arc during the second quarter.
SECOND HALF
- The Yellow Jackets picked up right where they left off, using a 13-2 run to take a 52-20 lead with 5:50 left in the third.
- Back-to-back three-pointers from Hensel and Badylak extended the BW lead to 42 points (65-23) with a minute to play in the third quarter.
- Ressler beat the third quarter buzzer to put BW up 67-25 after three, putting the exclamation point on a quarter in which BW outscored Manchester 29-10.
- BW rotated 16 players into the game during the second half, closing out a 74-36 victory in which 12 players entered themselves into the scoring column.
BW returns to the court on Friday, December 30 for the championship game of the BW Invitational. The Yellow Jackets will play the winner of Thursday's nightcap between Hamilton (N.Y.) College and the Rochester (N.Y.) Institute of Technology, with tip-off set for 3:00 p.m. in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
