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Second Half Outburst Lifts Women’s Basketball Past Trinity (Conn.) in NCAA Tournament First Round

Emily Irwin (Photo Courtesy of Kevin Wilker '26)
Emily Irwin (Photo Courtesy of Kevin Wilker '26)

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team used a 37-point second half outburst to defeated Trinity (Conn.) University in a NCAA Division III Tournament game by a final score of 59-54 inside the Hawk Center on the campus of the State University of New York at New Paltz.

BW (21-6) advances to the second round and will face the winner of tonight's second game between SUNY-New Paltz and Penn State University at Harrisburg on Saturday at 7:15. Trinity (19-8) ends its season.

The Yellow Jackets had three players score in double figures led by junior All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC guard Emily Irwin (Pickerington/Pataskala Watkins Memorial) as she scored 19 points and dished out a game-high tying five assists. Junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC guard/forward Caely Ressler (Napoleon) contributed 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Junior All-OAC forward Bella Vaillant (Perrysburg) recorded her career-high sixth double-double as she scored 11 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. 

The Bantams had two players score in double digits led by senior center Reilly Campbell as she scored a game-high 30 points.  Sophomore guard Theresa Twardosky chipped in 12 points.

1st Quarter (TU, 17-13)

  • Trinity jumped out to a 6-2 lead on a layup by freshman guard Avery Marzo at the 7:01 mark
  • BW took a 9-8 on when Ressler converted the traditional three-point play at 4:27
  • The Bantams outscored the Yellow Jackets 9-4 down the stretch

2nd Quarter (TU, 32-22)

  • BW tied the game at 17-17 on a layup by Vaillant at the 8:08 mark.
  • Trinity with a responded with a 10-0 run to take a 27-17 lead when Marzo spilt a pair from the charity strip at 5:44
  • Each team scored five points apiece the remainder of the quarter

3rd Quarter (TU, 42-38)

  • The Yellow Jackets opened the second half on a 6-1 to cut the lead down to 33-28 on a three-pointer by Vaillant at the 8:00 mark
  • BW took a 38-37 lead on a triple from senior guard Carolyn Wochele (Mentor) at 2:54
  • The Bantams closed the quarter on a 5-1 run

4th Quarter (BW, 59-54)

  • Trinity pushed its lead to 46-38 on a layup by Campbell at the 8:26 mark
  • The Yellow Jackets cut the lead down to 49-46 when Irwin split a pair of free throws at 5:35
  • BW tied the game at 51-51 on a Ressler three-pointer at the 1:46 mark
  • The Yellow Jackets closed the game on an 8-3 run