By: Athletic Communications Student Assistant Joe Meyer '24
ALLIANCE, Ohio - The No. 7 nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team erased a 6-point deficit with 20 seconds remaining in regulation and took down the University of Mount Union in an overtime thriller. The Yellow Jackets won by a final score of 75-73 in an Ohio Athletic Conference contest in Timken Gymnasium inside the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex.
BW (12-0, 5-0 OAC) was led by sophomore forward Caely Ressler's (Napoleon) career-high 23 points, including 11 fourth-quarter points. Ressler also led the Yellow Jackets with a team-high 8 rebounds and was a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe. Senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard Megan Hensel (Upper Sandusky) and junior forward Kira Philpot (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) also cracked double-digits for the Yellow Jackets, scoring 18 and 10 points respectively.
Mount Union (4-8, 1-4 OAC) was led by sophomore guard Ali Hudik's team-high 17 points and 5 rebounds. Senior guard Emma Cannon added 15 points and a game-high 9 rebounds in the losing effort for the Purple Raiders.
First Half
- Led by 6 first-quarter points from Philpot, the Yellow Jackets took a 9-8 lead into the second quarter.
- A 7-0 run gave Mount Union a 23-18 lead with just over five minutes left in the half.
- BW held the Purple Raiders to 3 points over the final 4:44 of the half but still trailed by one (26-25) at the break.
- BW's defense forced 12 first-half turnovers.
Second Half
- Fueled by an 8-2 run, the Purple Raiders took a 44-37 lead with 2:09 to play in the third.
- Hensel connected from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to two in the closing seconds of the third quarter and the Yellow Jackets trailed 44-42 entering the fourth quarter.
- Vaillant's putback layup with 7:37 remaining tied the game at 46.
- With the Yellow Jackets trailing 53-50, Ressler once again came through in the clutch, tying the game with a deep three-pointer with 4:06 to play.
- After the Purple Raiders retook a 57-53 lead, Hensel's third three-pointer of the half cut the deficit to 57-56 at the 1:25 mark.
- Mount Union responded by outscoring BW 6-1 over the next minute, extending their advantage to 63-57 with just 20 seconds remaining.
- Ressler connected on her third three-pointer of the quarter to bring the Yellow Jackets within 3 with 16 seconds left and BW regained possession after a game-saving steal by freshman guard Alyssa Miller (New Philadelphia).
- Following Miller's steal, junior guard Carolyn Wochele (Mentor) raced down the court and found Ressler for a game-tying three-pointer with 4 seconds to play, which ultimately sent the game to overtime after Mount Union's desperation heave fell short.
OVERTIME
- BW opened overtime on an 8-1 run, capped off by another Hensel three-pointer which gave the Yellow Jackets a 71-64 lead with 1:57 remaining.
- From there, Ressler iced the game from the charity stripe, sinking four free throws in the final minute to seal BW's 75-73 victory.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Saturday, January 7 as they travel to New Concord to take on Muskingum University in the second game of a men's and women's OAC doubleheader. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m. on Muskingum's Performance Court inside the Anne C. Steele Arena.
