ADA, Ohio - The No. 7 nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team took on No. 18 nationally ranked Ohio Northern University in a battle of the unbeaten Ohio Athletic Conference teams. The Polar Bears gave BW its first loss of the season as the Yellow Jackets fell by a 53-51 final score inside the ONU Sports Center.
BW (13-1, 6-1 OAC) was led by sophomore guard Emily Irwin (Pickerington/Pataskala Watkins Memorial) as she tied her career-high 19 points, shooting 6-9 from the field and 3-6 from three-point range. Freshman guard Kaycie Badylak (Cincinnati/Archbishop McNicholas) also notched double-digits, totaling 11 points (3-5 from three-point range).
Ohio Northern (13-1, 7-0 OAC) was led by senior All-OAC guard Brynn Serbin as she totaled a game-high 21 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Junior forward Kristen Luersman added 15 points and six rebounds.
First Half
- Out of the first media timeout, a shot from range from senior Academic All-OAC guard Izzy Andrews (Ann Arbor, Mich./Rudolf Steiner) put BW up 11-6.
- After 10 minutes of play, BW led a very back-and-forth game, 15-14.
- Back-to-back three pointers by Badylak put BW up 21-18 with 8:13 left in the second.
- After a three from Irwin, BW grabbed its largest lead of first half, up 24-19 at the 6:42 mark.
- ONU held BW scoreless for the remainder of the first half, going on an 8-0 run and led the Yellow Jackets at the half (27-24).
Second Half
- Back-to-back buckets by BW earned the lead back, 28-27, 1:12 into the half.
- The Polar Bears again held the Yellow Jackets scoreless for seven minutes, going on a 7-0 run, and led BW 37-32 after three quarters.
- After being down 42-34, back-to-back three pointers by Badylak and Irwin put the Yellow Jackets within two points.
- After a three from Irwin and two made free throws, the Yellow Jackets grabbed the lead back for the first time since the start of the third quarter, 47-46 with 3:58 left in the game.
- Having two opportunities on the free throw line to tie or grab the lead, BW went 1-4 (with the made free throw from Andrews), tying the game 51-51 with :03.9 left in regulation.
- Advancing the basketball past half court with a full timeout, the Polars Bears notched a layup on the buzzer to earn the 53-51 top-20 matchup victory.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Saturday, January 14 as they host Capital University for the second game of a men's and women's doubleheader in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m. against the Comets.
