By: Athletic Communications Student Assistant Paige Phillips '23
BEREA, Ohio – The No. 14 nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team defeated Muskingum University in an Ohio Athletic Conference and Seniors' Day game by a final score of 69-44 in the Ursrpung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
Prior to tip-off, BW (20-3, 13-3 OAC) honored its three senior student athletes – Academic All-OAC guard Regan Schill (Sheffield Village/Elyria Catholic), All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Megan Hensel (Upper Sandusky), and Academic All-OAC guard Izzy Andrews (Ann Arbor, Mich./Rudolf Steiner).
BW was led by sophomore forward Bella Vaillant (Perrysburg) as she recorded a team-high 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Junior guard Carolyn Wochele (Mentor) added nine points to the board and tallied three rebounds and two assists. Schill led the team in the first half, notching eight points, and added three assists in the contest.
Muskingum (9-14, 6-10 OAC) was led by Caitlyn DeMassimo as she tallied a game-high 12 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Additionally, Taylor DeMassimo recorded 10 points and four rebounds.
First Half
- The Yellow Jackets got the game started with a 7-0 run with points from Hensel, sophomore guard Emily Irwin (Pickerington/Pataskala Watkins Memorial), and Wochele.
- BW finished the first quarter with a 17-9 lead.
- A three from Schill kicked off the second quarter, to which Muskingum responded with a short 5-0 run.
- The remainder of the quarter featured back-and-forth action and the teams went into halftime with the Yellow Jackets in the lead 26-21.
Second Half
- Andrews got the scoring started in the second half with a layup.
- Another short 5-0 run from Muskingum cut the Yellow Jacket lead down to two but BW responded with five straight points from Vaillant.
- A 16-2 run from the Yellow Jackets pushed them ahead at a 17-point advantage, and they finished the third quarter leading 54-37.
- The fourth quarter was back-and-forth before going scoreless for four minutes.
- BW finished the game on a 8-3 run, ending in a victory for the Yellow Jackets at 69-44.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Wednesday, February 15 when they travel to University Heights to face OAC and crosstown rival John Carroll University. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. on the Mike Moran Court inside Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.
