Bound Baldwin-Wallace College Yellow Jackets
By: Matthew Florjancic, Correspondent
BEREA—For an NCAA Division III college basketball team to be successful and make a run at a national title, it has to have five solid starters and a strong bench.
The Baldwin-Wallace College women’s basketball team, 26-4 overall and champions of the East Region of Division III, have both.
Under the direction of veteran Head Coach Cheri Harrer, a graduate of Wynford High School and the University of Findlay, B-W utilizes a solid 11-to-12-player rotation that Harrer hopes will both wear down its opponents and provide constant and consistent play.
One of the players that Harrer utilizes in her rotation is freshman guard Leah Mottayaw, a graduate of Mansgield Madison High School.
Mottayaw comes off the bench to provide enthusiasm, spark, scoring ability and solid defense. Her efforts have been key as B-W has defeated Oswego State (N.Y.) University, 73-69, and William Smith (N.Y.) College, 71-67, last weekend (March 3-4) to advance to the Division III "Sweet 16" Tournament this weekend (March 10-11) at the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania. B-W will play Williams (Mass.) College, 23-5 overall, at Scranton in the East Sectional semifinals. The winner will play the winner of the host Scranton, 29-1 overall, versus the University of Rochester (N.Y.), 20-7 overall, game in the East Sectional Championship Game on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
Fans can listen to Friday’s B-W game both on campus radio station WBWC, 88.3 FM, and via the WBWC Internet Web site at www.wbwc.com. If the Jackets’ win on Friday, WBWC also will carry Saturday’s game. Saturday’s winner advances to the Division III Final Four on March 17-18 in Springfield, Massachusetts, the Home of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Mottayaw has played in 29 of 30 games for the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season Yellow Jackets and is averaging 4.1 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. In just under 15 minutes a contest, Mottayaw has 34 assists against just 21 turnovers. Her 1.62 assist-to-turnover ratio is third best on the team.
On the defensive end, Mottayaw has racked up 27 steals. On January 14, 2006, Mottayaw tallied a career-high 12 points in a 92-43 victory against Marietta College. In three other games this season, Mottayaw has scored in double figures.
Harrer loves getting production from the younger players on the team.
"Leah has poise that you don’t always see in a freshman," said Harrer, the winningest women’s basketball coach in school history with a 327-118 career mark in 16 seasons. "Leah stays calm in big situations and at the same time steps up and makes a big play when we need it.
"She’s sort of a quiet assassin," Harrer added. "I’m not really sure the opponent notices her until she’s done her damage to them."
Mottayaw’s teammates have also taken notice of her skills on the floor.
"Leah hustles all the time," said junior captain Steffani Jaworski. "She is always looking for other people and has a great shot too."
Mottayaw has enjoyed her first season in Berea. She is glad to be a part of a successful team.
"It has been so much fun and I feel lucky to be able to dress with some of these girls," Mottayaw said. "We are all excited to be part of the "Sweet 16." We obviously want to go further. We know what needs to be done, both offensively and defensively.
"We need to play our game," she added. "We need to play B-W basketball."
Mottayaw, an 18-year old early childhood/special education major, has already found a balance with school and athletics.
"It was kind of easy for me," she said. "Anytime I had a break during the day, I would go ahead and do school work."
Mottayaw came to B-W from a successful program at Madison Comprehensive High School of the Ohio Cardinal Conference. During her senior year, she led the Rams to an appearance in the Championship Game of the Findlay District.
"My favorite high school memory was probably playing in the District Championship my senior year," she said. "I knew it was my last game. Even though we lost, it was still really memorable.
"I have formed so many friendships throughout my high school career," added Mottayaw.
At Madison, Mottayaw was The Cardinal Conference Player of the Year and a two-time District VI Player of the Year. She is the school’s second-leading all-time scorer with 1,055 points and the all-time leader in assists, steals, three-point field goals and free throws made.
When it came time to choose a college, B-W won the Mottayaw lottery over Heidelberg College and Wilmington College.
"I decided to come to B-W because I liked the team and the coach," she said. "I also knew B-W was a good academic school. Their education program has a good reputation. It was a good decision for me and I am happy to be part of a winning program that has a chance to win a national championship."
Mottayaw, who is both effective on the floor and in the classroom, is hoping to follow in her mother’s footsteps as a school teacher.
"Since I was a junior at Madison, I started job-shadowing my mom. She is a first grade teacher," Mottayaw stated. "I really liked what I saw and I decided to major in education with an outcome of teaching and possibly coaching.
"Plus, I want to influence other kids’ lives," she added. "The kids are my favorite part. I love the younger ones and want to teach K (Kintergarten) through 3 (third grade)."
Mottayaw and her coach know she will have to improve in order to fulfill her potential on the court.
"I want to continue what I am doing," Mottayaw stated, speaking about playing basketball and getting better. "I want to continue to improve both offensively and defensively,but especially defensively. I want to get a couple more steals and rebound a little better."
"Leah was able to play for us early because she’s a good defender," said Harrer, who has led her Yellow Jackets to six OAC regular season titles, four OAC Tournament crowns and into the NCAA Division III Tournament nine of the past 11 years, including three "Sweet 16" appearances. "Leah could probably gain some physical strength to help her finish even stronger. That will be our suggestion to her for the offseason. If she continues to work hard and gets stronger, her potential is unlimited.
"As with all of our players, Leah can improve within our team defense and offense and become more instinctual in our system," Harrer added. "We are very pleased to have her in the program. She is a fine young woman who excells both in the classroom and on the court, and that’s what its all about at this level."
With the improvements Mottayaw has already made and those she still has left, this may not be her only trip to the "Sweet 16."
And, if Mottayaw continues to buy into the system and plays even better this weekend, she and her Yellow Jacket teammates may find themselves in Springfield, Massachusetts next weekend playing for the NCAA Division III National Championship.
"We play a very tall and tough Williams team on Friday," said Harrer. "We are looking forward to the challenge and win that game first before we think about anything else. This is just a great experience for Leah and all of the young people in our basketball program."
Listen to WBWC stay tuned in to Yellow Jacket women’s basketball.
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