WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College women's basketball team battled nationally-ranked Baldwin Wallace University to a narrow 66-61 defeat in an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) contest at Fred Raizk Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Yellow Jackets, ranked No. 12 in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, scored on their first three possessions and took a 13-6 lead on an Emily Irwin layup with 1:33 to play in the first quarter. Jada Pohlen answered with a triple, and after an Irwin free throw, Pohlen drove to the basket and scored again. Zahrya Bailey pulled the Quakers to within a point with a basket in transition, but a turnaround basket from Izzy Andrews put BW ahead 16-13 after 10 minutes. 

Early in the second quarter, the Yellow Jackets again looked to stretch the lead, but two Emma Wright baskets and another Bailey jumper tied the game 19-19 with 6:53 to play. Two Kennedy Lewis free throws gave Wilmington its first lead of the contest, but BW scored eight of the final 10 points of the half and led 29-23 at halftime. An Irwin triple opened the second half and gave the visitors what proved to be their largest lead of the game at 32-23, but the hosts hung around. Pohlen found Marisa Seiler on the wing for a swished triple to tie the game 43-43, but Irwin banked in a triple at the horn to put BW back up three. 

Wilmington tied the game multiple times in the fourth quarter. A Seiler three made it 52-52 and a Pohlen triple with 2:06 to play tied it 59-59. Two Yellow Jacket free throws followed, but Pohlen found Wright, who was fouled, for a layup on the ensuing possession. Unfortunately for WC, the free throw was a bit strong. BW corralled the rebound and make a quick layup, got a stop and made two free throws to seal the victory.

Both teams shot between 35-40 percent from the floor and between 70-75 percent from the free throw line. Wilmington had a 22-19 edge in field goals along with a 5-of-11 (45.5 percent) performance from distance while BW outscored the Quakers 23-13 at the charity stripe and held a 41-33 edge in rebounding. 

Ressler tallied a double-double with 14 points and a dozen rebounds to lead Baldwin Wallace while Irwin and Vaillant also scored in double figures. Pohlen led all scorers with 15 points, three assists and three steals while Wright had a career-high 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting off the bench. Lewis also scored in double figures with 11 while Seiler grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds to go along with nine points. 

Wilmington (10-7, 4-6 OAC) hosts Ohio Northern University at 7 p.m. on Saturday.