BEREA, Ohio - The No. 8 nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team took on Marietta College inside the Ban Johnson Arena for an Ohio Athletic Conference contest. Strong fourth quarter defense by the Yellow Jackets led them to a big team win over the Pioneers by a 52-49 final score.

BW (8-0, 3-0 OAC) was led by sophomore guard Emily Irwin (Pickerington/Pataskala Watkins Memorial) as she totaled a game-high 16 points and added six assists and four steals. Sophomore guard/forward Caely Ressler (Napoleon) tallied nine points and four boards. 

Marietta (5-3, 1-2 OAC) was led by senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC forward Erin Hahn as she posted 12 points and eight rebounds. 

FIRST HALF

• BW got out to a hot 12-3 lead after a three-pointer by senior Academic All-OAC guard Regan Schill (Sheffield Village/Elyria Catholic), forcing a Marietta timeout.
• The Yellow Jackets went into the second quarter with a 14-7 advantage.
• It was a defensive battle for the first half of the second quarter as the Pioneers held the Yellow Jackets scoreless for 7:50, and Marietta gained its first lead of the contest with 2:45 left in the half (15-14 Marietta).
• An old-fashioned three-point play by Ressler notched the Yellow Jackets' only points of the second quarter and earned BW the lead back, before a bucket by the Pioneers tied the game back with :54 left in the half.
• After 20 minutes of play, the teams were deadlocked at 17 points a-piece.

SECOND HALF

• Both squads were trading buckets until back-to-back scores by the Pioneers earned them the 30-25 advantage with 5:00 left in the third, forcing BW to call a timeout.
• Out of the break, Marietta went on a 7-0 run and the Pioneers took a 37-25 lead with 1:19 left in the third, forcing another BW break
• Back-to-back threes by Irwin and Ressler closed the gap to nine points, but a buzzer-beating three by Marietta gave the Pioneers the 40-31 advantage with 10 minutes left of play.
• The Pioneers notched the first bucket of the fourth quarter before the Yellow Jackets held Marietta scoreless for 7:17 in the fourth quarter, going on a 13-0 scoring run.
• With clutch shots by freshmen guards Leah Riley (Cincinnati/Sycamore) and Kaycie Badylak (Cincinnati/Archbishop McNicholas), BW earned a 46-42 advantage with 2:53 left in the game
• With BW up one point and on the defensive end, a clutch steal by Irwin forced the Pioneers to foul with nine seconds left
• After two made free throws, the Pioneers couldn't get the final three-point shot to go as the Yellow Jackets went on to claim the big 52-49 win

The Yellow Jackets return to play on Thursday, December 15 as they host Otterbein University in an OAC matchup in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center. The game is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. against the Cardinals.