B-W: Baldwin-Wallace Women's Basketball Beats Alma (Mich.), 60-52, in Double Overtime

BEREA, OHIO -- The Baldwin-Wallace College women's basketball team opened the 2007-2008 season tonight (Friday, November 16, 2007) with a 60-52 victory against Alma (Mich.) College in the O.C. Lewis Gymnasium in the first round of the Anderson University Tournament in Anderson, Indiana.

The key to the Yellow Jacket victory was outrebounding Alma, 64-55. B-W will now play in the championship game tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. versus either host Anderson or Marian (Wisc.) College.

In the first half, Alma built an early, 6-3 lead at the 14:18 mark when sophomore forward Meagan Hoblet made one of two free throws. It was the first of five three-point leads that the Scots would forge in the initial stanza. There were also five ties and three Yellow Jackets leads of just one point with the last one being at 25-24 when senior forward Carly Flowers (North Baltimore) scored on a putback shot and was fouled with 43 seconds left before the intermission. Another Hoblet basket game Alma a 26-25 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Alma extended its lead to as many as seven points at 33-26 with 15:48 left in the game when senior forward Ashley Matuzak made a jump shot.

Then the Yellow Jackets went on a 10-0 run and took their first lead at 35-33 at the 12:11 mark when junior two-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference guard Amanda Mondrach (Parma/ Parma Heights Holy Name) canned her second three-pointer of the game. A foul shot by sophomore center Ariel Brough (Powell/ Olentangy Liberty) then gave B-W its biggest lead of three points at 36-33 with 10:21 left.

After Alma tied the game at 36-36, B-W regained the lead at 37-36 at the 7:22 mark when freshman forward Sasha Samara (Amherst/ Steele) made a foul shot. Another foul shot by freshman guard Amanda Schroeder (Columbus Grove) at the 6:19 mark gave the Jackets a 38-36 advantage. Then a three-pointer by freshman guard Carrie Ritzler (Fostoria/ Hopewell-Loudon) gave B-W its largest lead of the game at five points at 41-36 with 5:28 left.

Led by a pair of baskets each from Hoblet and junior guard Heather Keenan, Alma then outscored B-W 8-3 to knot the game at 44-44 with 1:39 left. Following a pair of Hoblet foul shots and a basket by B-W senior guard Selena Eskinazi-Budge (Beachwood), the game was tied again at 46-all with 58.9 seconds left. Budge also had a chance to win the game in regulations but her shot was off the mark.

In overtime, B-W gained the lead at 47-46 when Flowers made a foul shot. After the teams traded baskets, B-W gained a brief four-point lead at 52-48 when Mondrach made her third triple of the contest with 1:48 left but Hoblet made a pair of two-pointers to tie it again at 52-52 with 41 seconds left. Alma had a chance to win it at the end of the first extra session by a shot by sophomore guard Danielle Large was off In the second overtime, B-W outscored Alma 8-0. Junior point guard Rachael Quiring (Brunswick/ Parma Heights Holy Name) gave B-W a three-point lead at 55-52 with a triple. Flowers extended the lead to five points with a basket, Budge made it six with a foul shot and Quiring ended her overtime onslaught with another basket.

The B-W women, 1-0 overall, were led by Flowers with 13 points and 12 rebounds. She was joined in double figures by Mondrach with 11 points. Senior forward Stacia Shrider (Marietta/ Warren Local) led all B-W rebounders with 13 caroms.

Alma, 0-1 overall, was led by Hoblet with a game-high 29 points and 16 rebounds.

Yellow Jacket fans are reminded that they can listen to all B-W men's and women's basketball games on campus radio station WBWC, 88.3 FM, or via the Internet at www.wbwc.com.

Following tomorrow's championship game at Alma, B-W will return to Berea and begin preparations for a trip on Tuesday, Nov. 20 to University Circle where it will play cross-town rival Case Western Reserve University at 7:00 p.m. B-W's first home game is on Saturday, Nov. 24 against Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) College at 3:00 p.m.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact B-W Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327, by FAX machine at 440-826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu. To contact Head Coach Cheri Harrer, please call her in her office at 440-826-3299 or e-mail her at charrer@bw.edu. You can get all of the latest B-W athletics information by visiting our Web site at www.bw.edu/athletics.

Game Notes #1 vs. Alma (Mich.) College

The Baldwin-Wallace College women's basketball team will open the 2007-2008 season when it travels to Anderson, Indiana to participate in the Anderson University Tipoff Tournament on Friday and Saturday, November 16-17. B-W will play Alma (Mich.) College in the first round at 6:00 p.m. and then face either host Anderson or Marian (Wisc.) College on Saturday, Nov. 17 at either 2:00 or 4:00 p.m.

Select Yellow Jacket women's basketball games, home and away, are broadcast by campus radio station WBWC, 88.3 FM, and via the WBWC Internet Web site at www.wbwc.com. The pregame show generally begins 20 minutes prior to tipoff.

BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE
LOCATION:   Berea, Ohio
NICKNAME:   Yellow Jackets
CONFERENCE:     Ohio Athletic
2006-2007 RECORD:     19-7
HEAD COACH:     Cheri Harrer
B-W RECORD:     347-126
YEAR AT B-W:    18th
CAREER RECORD: same
LAST MEETING:   1996-97, Alma won, 74-57, in Alma, Mich. on Nov. 23
SERIES STREAK: Alma, one
SERIES BEGAN:   1989-90, B-W won, 59-49
SERIES RECORD: Tied, 1-1

ALMA COLLEGE
LOCATION: Alma, Michigan
NICKNAME:   Scots
CONFERENCE:   Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic
2006-2007 RECORD:   10-14
HEAD COACH:  Charlie Goffnett
AC RECORD:   316-186
YEAR AT AC:    20th
CAREER RECORD: same

The Pregame Setup -- The Baldwin-Wallace College women's basketball team travels to Anderson Indiana to open the 2007-2008 season at the Anderson University Tipoff Tournament and will play Alma (Mich.) College in its first contest. The consolation and championship games will be played on Nov. 17.

The Yellow Jackets had a 19-7 record in 2006-2007 and failed to win 20 games for the first time in 11 years. The goal in 2007-2008 will be to win both the prestigious Ohio Athletic Conference and NCAA Division III titles. Head Coach Cheri Harrer returns 10 letter winners and three starters from a year ago.

The Scots of Alma College were 10-14 a year ago and return seven players from last year's squad, including four players who started and two that were fulltime starters. Alma's goals also are to win the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association title and advance to the NCAA tourney.

The B-W Versus Alma All-Time Series -- B-W and Alma have previously met twice in women's basketball with the all-time series tied at 1-1. The Yellow Jackets won the first meeting in 1989-90 by a 59-49 score. Alma won the second meeting between the two teams, 74-57, on November 23, 1996 at the Alma Tournament.

B-W Information and Probable Starters -- Look for veteran Head Coach Cheri Harrer to count on her veteran players to lead the team. Overall, Harrer goes deep on her bench rotation. Look for 5'8" senior forward and co-captain Stacia Shrider (Marietta/ Warren Local) to start after leading the team in rebounding a year ago with 6.2 rebounds per game. Shrider also averaged 6.1 ppg. and had 38 assists and 32 steals. She will be joined in the starting lineup by 5'8" junior two-time All-OAC guard Amanda Mondrach (Parma Heights / Holy Name), who led the team in threepointers with 24 and averaged 9.5 ppg. She also grabbed 2.5 rpg., passed for 37 assists, made 20 steals and blocked 11 shots. Look for 6'2" sophomore forward Ariel Brough (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) to start after leading the team in shots blocked with 31. She also scored 3.7 ppg. and grabbed 2.7 rpg. Running the offense will be 5'6" junior point guard Rachael Quiring (Brunswick/ Parma Hts. Holy Name), who averaged 5.0 ppg. and led the team in assists with 62. She also had 23 steals. Rounding out the starting five is 5'8" senior guard Selena Eskinazi-Budge (Beachwood), who was third on the team in scoring at 9.0 ppg., grabbed 3.2 rebounds, passed for 24 assists, blocked 10 shots and had 35 steals despite missing the last six games of the 2006-2007 season due to injury.

Off the bench, look for Harrer to use 5'10" senior forward Carly Flowers (North Baltimore), 5'6" junior point guard Jessica Butzer (Orrville) and 6'0" sophomore forward Paige Watson (Carey) from the players of a year ago. Flowers tallied led the team in scoring at 11.2 ppg., grabbed 4.9 rpg. and had 51 assists and 51 steals. Butzer scored 5.6 ppg. nd had 38 steals but has been limited each of the past two years due to injuries. In terms of newcomers, look for 5'7" freshman guard Courtney Ritzler (Fostoria/ Hopewell-Loudon), 5'10" sophomore transfer forward Sasha Samara (Amherst/Steele) and 5'6" freshman guard Ali Stack (Vermilion/ Firelands) all to see playing time.

Scouting the Scots of Alma College -- Look for Head Coach Charlie Goffnett to rely on his three veteran players to lead the very young Scots. This year Goffnett has a very young team which consists of two seniors, one junior, five sophomores and nine freshmen.

The squad is led by 5'10" senior forward Ashley Matuzak who started all 24 games last year and averaged 15.5 ppg., and 7.1 rpg. She shot 45 percent from the field, including making 35 three-pointers. She will be joined in the starting lineup by 5'8" junior guard Heather Keenan, who also started all 24 games last year and scored 10.3 ppg. She also led the team with 72 assists and 34 steals and canned 24 three-pointers. In addition, 5'8" senior forward Ashley Wojtas played in 23 games, including nine starts, and averaged 3.4 ppg. and 3.9 rpg., and 5'10" sophomore forward Megan Hoblet started seven and averaged 9.1 ppg. and 5.0 rpg. Look for 5'9" sophomore forward Kathryn Bigelow to finish out the starting five after playing in 21 games last year. Bigelow contributed 2.0 ppg. and 1.8 rpg. as well as 38 assists and 11 steals.

Off the bench, look for 5'7" sophomore guard Lauren Hasler to see time after playing in 19 games last season and scoring 0.5 ppg. Also, 5'6" sophomore guard Danielle Large returns to the roster. The rest of the players listed on Alma's preseason roster are freshmen or newcomers.

Yellow Jacket Chatter

Preseason Rankings -- B-W is listed among the "Others Receiving Votes" in the d3hoops.com Division III preseason poll.

OAC Coaches Poll -- The Yellow Jackets received four first place votes and 71 total points and were picked to finish second by the OAC Coaches in their 2007-2008 preseason poll that was released on Nov. 7.

Cheri Harrer is the Winningest Women's Coach in B-W History -- Yellow Jacket veteran Head Coach Cheri Harrer is the winningest women's basketball coach in B-W history with 347 victories. Harrer is 347-126 in her career.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, Please visit the Baldwin-Wallace Athletics website at www.bw.edu/athletics for up to date results and statistics. For further inquiries, please contact B-W SID Kevin Ruple by phone at (440) 826-2327, by FAX at (440) 826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu. B-W Head Coach Cheri Harrer can be reached by phone at (440) 826-3299, by FAX at (440) 826-2192 or via e-mail at charrer@bw.edu.