for Eighth Straight Win and Share of OAC Title
BEREA, OHIO — Junior guard Nikki Altenweg (Perry) scored a career-high 21 points today (Saturday, February 19, 2005) as the Baldwin-Wallace College women’s basketball team defeated Ohio Athletic Conference arch-rival Capital University, 84-68, at the Capital Center in Bexley. The win was B-W’s season-high eighth straight, its 14th in its last 15 games and helped the Yellow Jackets captured their second straight OAC co-title and their fifth title in the last seven years. A year ago, B-W shared the regular season title with Capital.
With its win, B-W is now 20-5 overall and tied with Wilmington College for this year's regular season title as each team finished 16-2 in the OAC. In addition, the Yellow Jackets clinched their ninth straight 20-win season.
Following a coin flip at the OAC Office in Twinsburg, Wilmington won the toss and earned the top seed and B-W is seeded second in next week's OAC Tournament which begins on Tuesday, Feb. 22.
With its loss, Capital is now 19-5 overall and 13-5 in the OAC and will be seeded fourth. They will meet the fifth-seeded team Marietta on Tuesday, in Bexley.
In the first half, Capital led by as many as five points with 11:18 remaining when junior guard Sara Heitkamp scored on a jumper to make the score 19-14. The Yellow Jackets would respond by outscoring the Crusaders 26-12 over the final 10 minutes of the first half to lead at halftime, 40-31.
In the second half, the Yellow Jackets outscored the Crusaders 15-5 to build their biggest lead of the game at 19 points at 55-36 with 15:59 remaining. The run was capped by a three-pointer by sophomore guard Steffani Jaworski (Parma/ Padua Fransiscan). The Crusaders would battle back to trail by 10 points at the 5:35 mark when sophomore forward Kim Breving tipped in a missed free-throw to make the score 68-58. That was as close as Capital would get.
Joining Altenweg in double figures for the Yellow Jackets was freshman forward Cara Shiplett (Canal Fulton/ Northwest) who had 15 points and Jaworski had 13 markers.
Capital was led by Heitkamp who had a game-high 31 points and a game-high six steals. Joining Heitkamp is double figures was junior guard Katie Todd and junior forward Jennifer Lilly with 12 points each.
The OAC semifinal games will be played on Thursday, Feb. 24 at two separate sites and the 2005 OAC Championship Game will be played at the highest remaining seeded team following Thursday's games. The championship game will be played at either 3:00 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. If Wilmington wins the coin flip and advances all the way to the title game, it will be played at 7:30 p.m. because Wilmington also is the host site for the 2005 OAC Wrestling Champiopnships that day. Wrestling begins at 10:00 a.m.
FOR MORE B-W SPORTS 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.
Game Notes #25 vs. Capital
The BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE YELLOW JACKET women's basketball team will travel to Bexley, Ohio to play Ohio Athletic Conference rival Capital University on Saturday, February 19, 2005 at The Capital Center in the final OAC regular season game of the season for each team.
RADIO -- All home and away Yellow Jacket women's basketball games are broadcast on campus radio station WBWC, 88.3 FM, and over the College Internet Web Site at www.bw.edu/athletics. The pregame show begins 15 minutes prior to tipoff.
BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE
LOCATION : Berea, Ohio
NICKNAME: Yellow Jackets
CONFERENCE: Ohio Athletic
2004-2005 Record: 19-5
OAC RECORD: 15-2
LAST GAME: Beat Ohio Northern, 74-56, on Feb. 16 in Berea
HEAD COACH: Cheri Harrer
B-W RECORD: 297-113
YEAR AT B-W: 15th
CAREER RECORD: same
LAST MEETING: Capital won, 56-52,on Dec. 18, 2004 in Berea
SERIES STREAK: Capital , one
SERIES BEGAN: 1982-83, CU won, 103-50
SERIES RECORD: CU leads, 33-13
CAPITAL UNIVERSITY
LOCATION: Bexley, Ohio
NICKNAME: Crusaders
CONFERENCE: Ohio Athletic
2004-2005 Record: 19-4
OAC RECORD: 13-4
LAST GAME: Beat Marietta , 82-74, on Feb. 16 in Marietta
HEAD COACH: Dixie Jeffers
CU RECORD: 419-105
YEAR AT CU: 19th
CAREER RECORD: 471-126/ 22 years
PREGAME NOTES -- The Baldwin-Wallace College women's basketball team will look to win its season-high eighth straight game and 14th of its last 15 contests when it travels to Bexley to play Capital University to end the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season. The 2005 OAC Tournament begins next Tuesday, Feb. 22.
The Yellow Jackets enter this game with a 19-5 overall and 15-2 OAC record following their 74-56 win against Ohio Northern University in Berea on Wednesday (Feb. 16). The win was a season-high seventh straight for B-W and its 13th in its last 14 games. The win also kept B-W in a first place tie with Wilmington College in the OAC Standings.
The Crusaders are 19-4 overall and 13-4 in the OAC following their 82-74 win on Wednesday (Feb. 16) at Marietta College in the Ban Johnson Field House. The win was Capital's fifth straight and seventh in their last eight games. Capital is all alone in third place in the OAC standings.
The Baldwin-Wallace versus Capital All-Time Series Information -- The Baldwin-Wallace College and Capital University women's basketball teams have met 46 times previously in women's basketball with the Crusaders holding a 33-13 series advantage. The Crusaders won the last meeting, 56-52, on December 18, 2004 in Berea. In the last 17 meetings, B-W has won 13 times (a 13-4 record). Capital won the first 29 times the two teams played, including a 103-50 decision in the first meeting in 1983.
The Division III National Rankings -- Baldwin-Wallace is unranked. Capital is listed among the "Others Receiving Votes" in this week's D3hoops.com internet web site Division III national poll. This poll was released on Tuesday, Feb. 15 and is released each Tuesday during the regular season.
The OAC Standings -- Today marks the final day of the OAC regular season. Baldwin-Wallace and Wilmington are tied for first place. Capital is all alone in third place and Otterbein is fourth. All four teams have secured a home court advantage in the first round of the OAC Tournament on Tuesday, February 22. The semifinals will be at two separate sites on Thursday, Feb. 24 and the 2005 OAC Women's Basketball Championship Game is on Saturday, Feb. 26.
The Yellow Jacket Probable Starters -- Look for Yellow Jacket veteran Head Coach Cheri Harrer to start 5'7" junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC point guard Nikki Altenweg (Perry) and 5'10" freshman guard Ashley Westenbarger (Mc-Comb) in the backcourt. On the inside, look for Harrer to start 5'9" sophomore Michelle White (Hudson) and 5'10" freshman Cara Shiplett (Canal Fulton/ Northwest) at the forward positions and 6'0" junior Jenn Neal (Mentor) at the center position. Shiplett tops the team in scoring at 10.8 ppg., rebounding with 5.1 rpg. and is second with in steals with 29. She is also canning 51.3 percent of her field goals (102-of-199). Altenweg is second in scoring at 10.4 ppg. and tops the team in assists with 92 and steals with 64. Westenbarger is scoring 6.3 ppg. and is second with 54 assists and is third with 24 steals. Neal is scoring 8.1 ppg. and grabs 4.0 rpg. and tops the team with 19 blocked shots. White scores 7.0 ppg. and is second with 4.5 rpg.
Off the bench, look for coach Harrer to play 5'6" sophomore guard Steffani Jaworski (Parma/Padua), 5'4" sophomore guard Kelly Williams (Canfield), 5'9" freshman forward Stacia Shrider (Marietta/ Warren Local), 5'10" freshman guard/ forward Alyson Cotter (Salem/ Senior), 5'8" sophomore forward Jessica Latimer (Brooklyn), 5'7" sophomore guard Kristin Matushevski (Hinckley/ Medina Highland) and 5'11" freshman forward Carly Flowers (North Baltimore). Jaworski is third on the team in scoring, averaging 8.5 ppg. and leads the team with 36 three-pointers.
Scouting The Crusaders of Capital -- Look for Capital Head Coach Dixie Jeffers to start 5'11" junior forward Jennifer Lilly and 5'9" junior forward Mara Boyer. Look for 5'6" junior forward Sara Heitkamp, 5'8" junior guard Kati Todd and 5'3" sophomore guard Kate Leopard in the backcourt. Heitkamp, who is one of the best all-around players in the OAC, leads the team in scoring with 17.9 ppg, is grabbing 5.8 rpg. and tops the OAC with 78 steals. Lilly is scoring 9.7 ppg., leads the Crusaders in rebounding at 8.9 rpg. and cans 51.5 percent of her field goal opportunities. Todd is second at 15.3 ppg. and has 60 assists. Leopard is scoring 7.0 ppg. and is an outside threat as she has canned 41 three-pointers. Boyer is scoring 4.7 ppg. and grabs 4.5 rpg.
Off the bench, look for Coach Jeffers to play 5'5" freshman guard Lindsay Pfirman, 5'11" freshman forward Tiffany Withers, 6'0" sophomore forward Kim Breving and 5'7" junior guard Kimberly Wheeler. Withers comes off the bench to score 5.6 ppg. and grab 3.8 rpg.
In The First Meeting on December 18 in Berea, Ohio: Capital -- 56 -- Baldwin-Wallace -- 52 -- In the first game this season between B-W and Capital,the then fourth-ranked Crusaders knocked off the then 20th-ranked Yellow Jackets, 56-52, in a thriller in Berea. Junior guard Kati Todd led the Crusaders with 18 points and junior guard Sara Heitkamp had 14, but it was the bench play of Tiffany Withers and Jenna Alge that ignited an 18-0 Capital run during the second half that erased an 11-point B-W lead and gave Capital the win. Leading the Yellow Jackets were junior guard Nikki Altenweg and sophomore forward Michelle White with 10 points each.
In B-W's Last Game on February 16, 2005 versus Ohio Northern in Berea, Ohio: Baldwin-Wallace -- 74, ONU -- 56-- In B-W's last game, the Yellow Jackets defeated OAC-rival Ohio Northern University, 74-56, on Wednesday, February 16 in Berea. Junior point guard Nikki Altenweg led the Yellow Jackets with 14 points and six assists. Freshman forward Cara Shiplett joined Altenweg in double figures with 11 points. Junior center Jenn Neal, sophomore back up guard Steffani Jaworski and sophomore forward Jessica Latimer each scored seven points.
In Capital's Last Game on February 16 versus Marietta in Marietta, Ohio: Capital -- 82, Marietta -- 74 -- In Capital's last game, the Crusaders traveled to Marietta, Ohio and knocked off host Marietta Colllege, 82-74, on Wednesday, February 16. The Crusaders were led by junior guard Sara Heitkamp and junior guard Kati Todd with 23 and 22 points, respectively. Sophomore forward Kim Breving also scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
Yellow Jacket Chatter
Nikki Altenweg is Among the Top All-Time Assist Markers and Steal Leaders -- Junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC point guard Nikki Altenweg currently has 242 career assists and 146 career steals to rank 12th in assists and ninth in steals. In steals, Altenweg needs five more to surpass ninth-ranked Holly Koepp (1999-2003) who had 150. She needs three more assists to crack the Top-10 on that list and tie 10th-place Mandy Zolciak (1998-2001), who had 245.
Cheri Harrer is Approaching The 300-Win Plateau -- Yellow Jacket veteran Head Coach Cheri Harrer is the winningest women's basketball coach in B-W history with 297 victories and needs four more to reach the 300-win plateau. Harrer is 297-113 in 15 seasons at B-W.
OAC Titles and NCAA Excellence --- With wins in its final two regular season games, the Yellow Jackets can win their fifth OAC regular season title in the last seven years. B-W won OAC regular season and OAC Tournament titles in 1999-2000, 2000-2001 and 2001-2002. A year ago, B-W tied Capital University for the regular season crown. The Yellow Jackets have also advanced to the NCAA Division III National Tournament in seven of the last nine years, including in 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 when it advanced to the "Elite Eight" each year.
Eight Straight 20-Win Seasons -- Also with two wins this week, the Yellow Jackets can clinch a ninth straight 20-win season in 2004-2005. B-W currently owns a streak of eight straight 20-win seasons. During that time span, B-Ware 194-34 with an .850 winning percentage.
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.
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