BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team is focused on returning to the top of the Ohio Athletic Conference in 2023-24.
BW, who is ranked 20 nationally in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Preseason Poll and second in the OAC Coaches Preseason poll, finished the 2022-23 campaign with a record of 22-6 and an OAC slate of 14-4, which was good for third. Despite advancing only to the OAC Tournament semifinals, the Yellow Jackets advanced to their fourth straight NCAA Division III National Tournament.
Veteran Head Coach Cheri Harrer returns 13 letterwinners, three All-OAC players and four Academic All-OAC performers, four seniors, five juniors and five sophomore that are eager to reclaim the OAC regular season and tournament championships.
Headlining the returners are junior All-OAC players Emily Irwin (Pickerington/Pataskala Watkins Memorial), Caely Ressler (Napoleon) and Bella Vaillant (Perrysburg).
Irwin, who was a first-team selection, had a breakout season as the court general. She appeared in 27 games. Irwin led the team and was eighth in the OAC with a career-high 11.6 points-per-game and 313 points. She led the team and was second and was tied for ninth in the league with a career-best 40 steals. Irwin was second on the team with a career-high 51 assists. She added career-best 48 rebounds. In her career, Irwin has appeared in 54 games and has scored 481 points, dished out 91 assists, grabbed 71 rebounds and made 57 steals.
Ressler, who missed the final seven games of the season with an injury and was an honorable mention honoree, lead the team and was 10th in the OAC with a career-high 16 blocks. She had career-bests and was third on the team in points with 183, third in rebounds with 135 and tied for third in steals with 20. Ressler also was fourth in assists with 26. For her career, Ressler has played in 48 games and has scored 326 points, grabbed 245 rebounds, dished out 59 assists, made 33 steals and had 33 blocks.
Valliant, who was a second-team selection, made her presence felt in the paint with a career-season. She appeared and started in all 28 games. Valliant led the team and was fifth in the OAC with a career-high 182 rebounds. She was second on the team and tied for sixth in the conference with career-best 302 points and tied for third with a career-high 20 steals. Valliant also tallied a career-best in 22 assists and career-high tying three blocks. In her career, Valliant has played in 53 games and has scored 360 points, grabbed 219 rebounds, made 29 steals, dished out 26 assists and blocked six shots.
BW has several players in the backcourt that have made contributions in senior Carolyn Wochele (Mentor), junior Alek Johnson (Gibsonia, Pa./Mars Area) and sophomores Kaycie Badylak (Cincinnati/Archbishop McNicholas), Ali Menendez (Hudson), Alyssa Miller (New Philadelphia) and Leah Riley (Cincinnati/Sycamore).
Wochele has appeared n 69 career games and has scored 204 points, grabbed 101 rebounds, dished out 99 assists, made 30 steals and blocked three shots. Johnson has played in 40 career games and has scored 45 points, 24 rebounds, dished out nine assists, made three steals and had one block. Badylak played in 24 games last season and scored 66 points, grabbed 21 rebounds, made eight steals, and had two assists. Menendez appeared in eight games and grabbed four rebounds, scored two points, and had one steal and block. Miller played in 27 games and scored 48 points, grabbed 58 rebounds, dished out 10 assists, made seven steals and had six blocks. Riley appeared in 24 games and scored 63 points, grabbed 23 rebounds, made 14 steals, and had nine assists.
The Yellow Jackets bring back in the front court seniors Megan Jurosic (New Knoxville), Kira Philpot (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) and Sylvie Sonneman (Jamestown/Greenview), junior Sadie Arend (Carey) and sophomore Brooke Thompson (Maineville/Little Miami).
Jurosic has played in 38 career games and has grabbed 30 rebounds, scored 29 points, and has tallied eight assists and two steals. Philpot has appeared in 67 career games and has scored 328 points, grabbed 239 rebounds, made 24 steals, blocked 24 shots, and dished out 24 assists. Sonneman has played in 69 career games and has scored 262 points, grabbed 95 rebounds, made 46 steals, dished out 42 assists and blocked 14 shots. Arend has appeared in 38 career games and has scored 24 points, grabbed 21 rebounds, made five steals, and dished out four assists. Thompson has played in 10 games and has scored five points, grabbed seven rebounds, and made one steal.
BW opens the 2023-24 on Friday and Saturday, November 10 and 11 when it travels to Rochester, New York to compete in the Chuck Resler Tournament hosted by the University of Rochester. The Yellow Jackets open the tournament with a first round game against Gettysburg (Pa.) College on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. The consolation and championship games will be contested on Saturday at 3 or 8 p.m.
