III Women's Tournamment in Berea and the Big Red Advance to Play at Albion (Mich.) on Saturday
BEREA, OHIO -- Senior guard Emma Woodward scored a game-high 17 points tonight (Wednesday, March 2, 2005) as the Denison University women's basketball team defeated Baldwin-Wallace College, 51-46, in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament at the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium in Berea. With the win, the Big Red advance to play at Albion ( Mich.) College on Saturday (Feb. 5) at 3:00 p.m.
With its victory, the Big Red improve to 20-8 overall. B-W ends its season at 23-6 overall and lost for the first time in its last 12 contests.
In the first half, Denison jumped out to a quick, 8-0 lead at the 17:53 mark when senior guard Emma Woodward made two foul shots. The Big Red extended their lead to as many as 10 points at 20-10 at the 5:01 mark when sophomore forward Marisa Hard made two foul shots. Then B-W outscored Denison 12-4 to trail by two points at halftime, 24-22.
In the second half, Denison extended its lead to as many as nine points at the 7:12 mark at 42-33 when sophomore guard Sam Davis made a layup. The Yellow Jackets then went on an 11-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 44-42 at the 2:06 mark when sophomore guard Steffani Jaworski made the first of two foul shots and freshman forward Cara Shiplett put in the follow shot. Denison then tied the game at 44-all at the 1:39 mark when Hard grabbed a rebound and put the ball in the hoop. Following a B-W shot clock violation, the Big Red then grabbed a 47-44 lead with 48.65 seconds left when Woodward canned a three-pointer. Junior forward Kristen Sheffield then made two foul shots to extend the lead to five points and help the Big Red advance.
Keys to the Big Red win included making 15 of 16 foul shots (Denison came into the game as a 65 percent foul shooting team) and Denison dominated on the boards by outrebouding B-W, 39-25.
In addition to Woodward scoring in double digits for the Big Red, Sheffield had 11 points.
B-W was led by Shiplett with 11 and sophomore Jessica Latimer had 10 markers.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact B-W Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327, by FAX at 440-826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu.
Game Notes vs. Denison
The BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE YELLOW JACKET women's basketball team will host Denison University on Wednesday, March 2, 2005 in a first round NCAA Division III National Tournament game at the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium in Berea, Ohio at 7:30 p.m.
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 game also could be carried LIVE on the WBWC web site at www.wbwc.com. The pregame show begins 15 minutes prior to tipoff.
BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE
LOCATION : Berea, Ohio
NICKNAME: Yellow Jackets
CONFERENCE: Ohio Athletic
2004-2005 Record: 23-5
OAC RECORD: 16-2 (OAC Co-Champs)
LAST GAME: Beat Wilmington, 81-59, on Feb. 26 in Gambier
HEAD COACH: Cheri Harrer
DU RECORD: 301-113
YEAR AT DC: 15th
CAREER RECORD: same
LAST MEETING: 1986-87, B-W won, 78-47
SERIES STREAK: B-W, two straight
SERIES BEGAN: 1965-66, B-W won, 50-34
SERIES RECORD: B-W leads, 3-1
DENISON UNIVERSITY
LOCATION: Granville, Ohio
NICKNAME: Big Red
CONFERENCE: North Coast Athletic
2004-2005 Record: 19-8
NCAC RECORD: 12-4
LAST GAME: Beat Kenyon, 49-39, on Feb. 26 in Gambier
HEAD COACH: Sara Lee
DU RECORD: 203-195
YEAR AT DC 16th
CAREER RECORD: same
PREGAME NOTES -- The Baldwin-Wallace College women's basketball team will open NCAA Tournament play on Wednesday, March 2 when it hosts Denison University at the Randolph Ursprung Gymnasium. B-W has won 11 straight games and 17 of their last 18 contests. The winner of this game will advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and will travel to Albion, Mich. to play Albion College on Saturday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m..
The Yellow Jackets enter this game with a 23-5 overall record and were the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season co-champions and the OAC Tournament champions. B-W last played on Saturday (Feb. 26) when it beat OAC arch-rival Wilmington College, 81-59, in Wilmington. B-W won two of three matchups this year with Wilmington.
The Big Red of Denison University enters this game with a 19-8 overall record. Denison last played on Saturday (Feb. 26) when it defeated Kenyon College, 49-39, in the championship game of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. With its win, Denison advances to the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the first time in 11 years. In addition, the Big Red's 19 wins are a school single-season record.
Baldwin-Wallace College versus Denison University Series Information -- This is the fifth all-time meeting between B-W and Denison in women's basketball. The Yellow Jackets lead the series, 3-1, including a 78-47 victory in 1986-87 and two straight wins overall. B-W also won the first-ever meeting, 50-34, in 1965-66.
B-W Women's OAC Titles and NCAA Excellence --- This winter, the B-W women's basketball team won its second straight Ohio Athletic Conference regular season title and its first OAC tourney crown since 2002. This year's OAC regular season co-title is B-W's fifth in the last seven years. The OAC Tournament crown is its fourth. B-W won the 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. This year, B-W tied with Wilmington College for the OAC regular season title as each team had a 16-2 record. In addition, the Yellow Jackets have also advanced to the NCAA Division III National Tournament in eight of the last 10 years, including in 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 when they advanced to the "Elite Eight".
National Rankings -- The Yellow Jackets women's basketball team comes into the game in the "Others Receiving Votes" section of the latest d3hoops.com Internet poll. Denison enters the game unranked.
How B-W Fared at the 2005 OAC Tournament -- Baldwin-Wallace was seeded second in the OAC Tournament because it lost a coin flip to arch-rival Wilmington College. It was the last thing that B-W has lost! The Yellow Jackets advanced to the NCAA Tournament by winning three games and the 2005 OAC Tournament for the fourth time overall and the first since 2002. B-W dispatched seventh-seed Mt. Union College, 72-58, last Tuesday (Feb. 22). Then it beat third-seed Otterbein College, 75-69, in the semifinals on Thursday (Feb. 24). B-W won the title by beating defending Division III national champion Wilmington, 81-59, in the championship game on Saturday in Wilmington.
The Yellow Jacket Probable Starters and Players Who Will Come Off the Bench and Play -- 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 (McComb) 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. Altenweg is leading the team in scoring at 10.7 ppg tops the team in assists with 108 and steals with 68. Shiplett is second in scoring at 10.6 ppg. Shiplett leads the team in rebounding with 5.0 rpg. and is second with in steals with 31. She is also canning 49.6 percent of her field goals (113-of-228). Westenbarger is scoring 6.9 ppg. and is second with 61 assists and has 26 steals. Neal is scoring 8.1 ppg. and grabs 4.3 rpg. and tops the team with 27 blocked shots. White scores 7.2 ppg. and is second with 4.6 rpg.
Off the bench, look for Harrer to play as many as seven players, depending on the opponent and matchups. Look for 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 8.9 ppg. and leads the team with 45 three-pointers.
The Big Red Probable Starters and Players Who Will Come Off the Bench and Play -- Look for Big Red Head Coach Sara Lee to start 5'8" sophomore guard Lauren Vashaw, 5'8" sophomore guard Caitlin Krupka and 5'9" senior guard Emma Woodward in the backcourt. On the inside, look for Lee to start 6'0" junior Kristen Sheffield and 5'11" sophomore Marissa Hard at the forward positions. Woodward is leading the team in scoring at 14.6 ppg is second on the team in rebounding with 5.0 rpg. and leads the team in assists with 63. Sheffield is second in scoring at 11.4 ppg. and shoots a team-leading 42.5 percent from the floor (113-of-266). Sheffield also leads the time in rebounding with 7.6 rpg. and blocks with 102. Hard is scoring 6.3 ppg., is fifth in rebounding with 4.3 rpg and has 28 steals. Krupka is scoring 5.4 ppg. and has 37 steals. Vashaw scores 3.2 ppg. and has 50 assists and 28 steals.
Off the bench, look for Lee to play as many as seven players. Look for 5'9" sophomore forward Tammy Hoch, 5'11" senior forward Lindsay Dunnigan, 6'0" freshman forward Mimi Pierson, 5'8" junior forward Kristina Bethea, 5'6" senior guard Mary Siefker and 5'4" sophomore guard Sam Davis. Hoch is fourth on the team in scoring and rebounding with 5.5 ppg. and 4.9 rpg. She also shoots 42 percent from the floor (58-of-138) which is second-highest on the team.
In B-W's Last Game on February 24, 2005 versus Wilmington in Wilmington, Ohio in the OAC Finals: Baldwin-Wallace -- 81, Otterbein -- 59 -- In B-W's 81-59 championship game win against Wilmington College at the Fred Raizk Arena in Wilmington, freshman forward Cara Shiplett and senior point guard Nikki Altenweg led B-W with 12 points each. In addition, freshman guard Ashley Westenbarger and junior forward Jenn Neal had 10 points a piece, and three other Yellow Jackets scored 8 points each. Shiplett grabbed eight rebounds and Altenweg had five assists for the B-W.
In Denison's Last Game on February 26, 2005 versus Kenyon in Gambier, Ohio in the NCAC Finals: Denison -- 49, Kenyon -- 39 -- In Denison's last game, a 49-39 victory against Kenyon College in the NCAC Championship Game in Gambier, junior forward Kristen Sheffield led the Big Red with 16 points and grabbed six rebounds. Senior guard Emma Woodward was the only other Denison player in double figures with 14 points and she grabbed six rebounds.
Yellow Jacket Chatter
Nikki Altenweg is Among the Top All-Time Assist Markers and Steal Leaders -- Junior point guard Nikki Altenweg (Perry) now has 263 career assists and 156 career steals to rank eighth in assists and eighth in steals. Altenweg is 19 assists from passing Lori Hein (1980-83) for seventh place. Her 156 steals are eighth and five shy of seventh place and Amy Sander (1991-95).
Cheri Harrer Wins Her 300th Game and is Now at 301 and Counting -- With B-W's OAC Tournament semifinal win against Otterbein College on Feb. 24, Yellow Jacket veteran Head Coach Cheri Harrer won the 300th game of her career. Harrer is the winningest women's basketball coach in B-W history with 301 victories and a 301-113 record in 15 seasons at B-W. She has an outstanding .727 winning percentage.
Yellow Jackets and Halftime Leads -- B-W has led in all but three of its 28 games at halftime. The three exceptions coming against Otterbein College (twice) and at Wilmington College once.
B-W Losses Have Come Mostly From Top 25 Teams -- Except for the opening season game loss to Case Western Reserve University, all of B-W losses have come to top flight teams. B-W has lost to defending national champion Wilmington College, Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular season champion and 16th-ranked Albion (Mich.) College. B-W's other two losses have come at the hand of highly ranked teams at the time of the game. Capital was ranked fourth in the country and the University of Wisconsinat Oshkosh was ranked third and aactually vaulted to No.1 following its win against the Yellow Jackets..
B-W Has its Ninth Straight 20-Win Season -- The Yellow Jacket women clinched a ninth straight 20-win season in 2004-2005 with their current 23-5 overall record. The nine straight winning seasons is the second longest 20-win streak in Ohio Athletic Conference women's basketball history.
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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