Baldwin-Wallace Women's Basketball Team Defeats Heidelberg, 70-63, For First OAC Win

Box Score | Updated Season Statistics

BEREA, OHIO  – Junior All-OAC forward Jessica Carpenter (North Canton/Hover) scored 20 points as the Baldwin-Wallace College women's basketball team defeated Heidelberg University, 70-63, tonight (Wednesday, December 7, 2011) in an Ohio Athletic Conference game in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.

With the victory, the Yellow Jackets improved to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the OAC.  The Student Princes fall to 2-6 overall and 0-2 in the OAC.

In addition to Carpenter for B-W, junior forward Nancy Coulter (Washington Court House/Miami Trace) contributed 12 points and sophomore guard Jessica Lairson (Louisville) added 11 points.  Senior forward Catherine Spisak (Sandusky/St. Mary's Central Catholic) had her first double-double of the season as she grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds and scored a season-best 10 points.  Heidelberg was led by Kathleen Philips with a game-high 25 points and Emily Giel with 10 points.

After two minutes of scoreless action, the Student Princes opened up the scoring when Megan Miller hit a jumper at the 18:00 mark.  Heidelberg added to its lead (4-0) when Philips connected on a jumper in the paint with 17:02 left in the opening period.

The Yellow Jackets got on the board and cut into the lead (4-3) when Lairson connected on a three-pointer.  B-W took its first lead of the half (5-4) when Carpenter hit a jumper at 16:01.

After a layup at the 14:56 mark by sophomore forward Lexi Rohrbach (Tiffin/Columbian), the Student Princes would regain the lead (8-7) on a pair of free throws by Phillips and a jumper by Jordan Ickes at 13:48.

After the game was tied (9-9), the Yellow Jackets would go on an 8-0 run sparked by a pair of three-pointers by Carpenter and freshman guard Sharlee Bailey (Wadsworth).  The three-pointer by Bailey marked her first career bucket and points.

Heidelberg would use a 5-0 run of its own to cut the lead down to three points (17-14) on a jumper by Jessica Simpkins and as Paige Rickets converted the traditional three-point play at 9:18.

B-W would then go on another 5-0 run to push the lead back to eight points (22-14) on a three-point play by Rohrbach and a jumper by Lairson at 8:17.

The Student Princes would outscore the Yellow Jackets 13-8 over the final minutes of the first half but a steal and layup by Coulter as time expired to give B-W the three point lead at the half (30-27).

The Yellow Jackets opened the second half on a 12-4 run to extend their lead to a game-high 11 points (42-31) with 16:11 remaining to play.  The run was keyed by Coulter and Spisak with four points apiece.

Undaunted, Heidelberg would go on a 12-3 run and cut the B-W lead down to one point (45-44) at 12:54 as Phillips would account for eight points. The Yellow Jackets would push the lead back to eight points (56-48) on a pair of free throws by Carpenter with 7:57 left to play.

After a jumper by Phillips for the Student Princes (56-50) at 7:42, B-W would outscore Heidelberg 14-13 over the remainder of the game to secure the seven point victory (70-63).

The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Saturday, December 10 when they travel to Wilmington to take on the Quakers of Wilmington College in the first game of a men's and women's OAC doubleheader in the Fred Razik Arena at 2:00 p.m.  The B-W men play in the second game at 4:00 p.m.   The next home game is on Saturday, December 17 when the team will host Muskingum University in an OAC game in the Ursprung Gymnasium at 3:00 p.m.

FOR MORE B-W Sports Information, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu or Assistant SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at jefmille@bw.edu. Fans can access the latest B-W athletics information at www.bw.edu/athletics and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.