Advance to the OAC Tournament Semifinals
BEREA, OHIO — Junior point guard Nikki Altenweg (Perry) scored a team-high 12 points tonight (Tuesday, February 22, 2005) as the Baldwin-Wallace College women’s basketball team defeated Ohio Northern University, 72-58, in the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium in Berea to advance to the semifinal round of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament on Thursday night. B-W will host its semifinal game at &;30 p.m. in Berea.
The win was B-W’s season-high ninth straight, its 15th in its last 16 games, its third this year against ONU and its 23rd straight overall against the Polar Bears dating back more than a decade to January 7, 1995.
With its win, B-W is now 21-5 overall and advances to play the winner of the Otterbein College versus John Carroll University game being played tonight in Westerville. With its loss, ONU ends its season at 11-15 overall.
In the first half, B-W broke from an 11-11 tie to lead by as many as eight points on two separate occassions with the last being at 26-18 with 2:13 left before the intermission when sophomore guard Steffani Jaworski (Parma/ Padua) made her second three-pointer of the stanza. B-W also led at halftime, 29-22..
In the second half, The Polar Bears got as close as four points at 29-26 before B-W went on a 19-7 run to lead by as many as 15 points at 48-33 with 12:31 left in the game when junior forward Jenn Neal (Mentor) made a pair of foul shots. Then ONU went on a 19-8 run to cut B-W's lead to just four points at 56-52 with 4:11 left when freshman guard Megan Cevasco canned a pair of foul shots. B-W then closed out the victory by outscoring the Polar Bears 16-6, including making six of seven foul shots in the final 1:29.
Joining Altenweg in double figures for the Yellow Jackets were freshman guard Ashley Westenbarger (McComb), Jaworski and sophomore forward Michelle White (Hudson) with 11 points each and sophomore forward Cara Shiplett (Canal Fulton/ Northwest) had 10. Neal also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
ONU was led by freshman forward Erin Brand with agame-high 16 points, senior guard Sandy Ziegler had 13 points and senior forward Jen Hrovat had 10.
The Yellow Jacket women are seeking their fourth OAC Tournament title in the last six years. B-W has won five of the past seven OAC regular season titles, including sharing a co-title this winter with Wilmington College.
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 atkruple@bw.edu
Game Notes vs. Ohio Northern
The second-seeded BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE YELLOW JACKET women's basketball team will play host to the seventh-seeded Ohio Northern University Polar Bears on Tuesday, February 22, 2005 in the first round of the 2005 Ohio Conference Tournament at the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium in Berea at 7:30 p.m. The winner of this game will advance to play the winner of third-seeded Otterbein College and sixth-seeded John Carroll University on Thursday, Feb. 24 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: 20-5
OAC RECORD: 16-2 (OAC Co-Champs)
LAST GAME: Beat Capital, 84-68, on Feb. 19 in Bexley
HEAD COACH: Cheri Harrer
B-W RECORD: 298-113
YEAR AT B-W: 15th
CAREER RECORD: same
LAST MEETING: B-W won 76-54, on Feb. 16, 2005 in Berea
SERIES STREAK: B-W, 22 straight
SERIES BEGAN: 1974-75, ONU won 67-42
SERIES RECORD: B-W leads, 24-23
OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY
LOCATION: Ada, Ohio
NICKNAME: Polar Bears
CONFERENCE: Ohio Athletic
2004-2005 Record: 11-14
OAC RECORD: 6-12 (seventh place)
LAST GAME: Lost to John Carroll, 69-57, on Feb. 19, in Ada
HEAD COACH: Michele Durand
ONU RECORD: 41-62
YEAR AT ONU: Fourth
CAREER RECORD: 152-219 in 15 years
PREGAME NOTES -- The Baldwin-Wallace College women's basketball team will look to win its season-high ninth straight game, its 15th in its last 16 contests, its 23rd straight against Ohio Norethern University and most importantly advance to Thursday's Ohio Athletic Conference semifinals with a win against ONU in the first round of the 2005 OAC Tournament in Berea.
The Yellow Jackets enter this game with a 20-5 overall record and claimed a share of the 2005 OAC regular season title with a 16-2 record (shared the co-title with Wilmington College). B-W last played on Saturday when it beat OAC arch-rival Capital University, 84-68, at The Capital Center in Bexley. On Saturday evening, B-W lost a coin flip to Wilmington for the top seed in the tourney.
The Polar Bears enter this game with an 11-14 overall record and finished seventh during the OAC regular season with a 6-12 mark. ONU last played on Saturday when it lost to John Carroll University, 69-57, at the ONU Sports Center in Ada. The Polar Bears have lost four straight games and 10 of their last 12 contests.
The Baldwin-Wallace versus Ohio Northern University All-Time Series Information -- The Baldwin-Wallace College and B-W and ONU have met 47 times previously in women's basketball with the B-W leading the all-time series, 24-23, following a 76-54 Yellow Jacket victory in the second meeting this season on February 16, 2005 in Berea. B-W also beat ONU in Ada on December 15, 2004 by the score of 67-45. The Yellow Jackets have won 22 straight meetings against ONU. The last Polar Bear win against B-W came on January 7,1995 when ONU won, 66-46, in Ada. The first meeting took place in 1974-75 when ONU beat the Yellow Jackets, 67-42.
National Rankings -- Both teams were unranked in last week's WBWC (Women's Basketball Coaches Association) and D3hoops.com internet web site Division III national polls. The new polls are released each Tuesday afternoon.
The OAC Tournament Matchups -- Decided by a coin flip, Wilmington College (21-4) is the top-seeded team in the OAC Tournament and will meet the eight -seed, Heidelberg College (12-13), in Wilmington on Tuesday night in one of the four quarterfinal games. In the other three games, B-W is the seeded second and hosts ONU, Otterbein College (16-9) is seeded third and hosts the six-seed John Carroll University (10-14) in Westerville, and fourth-seeded Capital University (19-5) hosts fifth-seeded fifth-seeded Marietta College (10-14) in Bexley. All four games begin at 7:30 p.m.
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. Shiplett tops the team in scoring at 10.9 ppg., rebounding with 5.0 rpg. and is second with in steals with 29. She is also canning 51.0 percent of her field goals (105-of-206). Altenweg is second in scoring at 10.8 ppg. and tops the team in assists with 95 and steals with 67. Westenbarger is scoring 6.2 ppg. and is second with 55 assists and is third with 25 steals. Neal is scoring 7.9 ppg. and grabs 4.0 rpg. and tops the team with 21 blocked shots. White scores 7.0 ppg. and is second with 4.6 rpg.
Off the bench, look for coach Harrer to play as many as nine 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, averaging8.6 ppg. and leads the team with 39 three-pointers.
The Polar Bears Probable Starters and Players Who Will Come Off the Bench and Play -- Look Polar Bear Head Coach Michele Durand to start 5'9" freshman Erin Brand, 5'9" senior Jen Hrovat and 5'9" sophomore Kristin Crawford on the inside. In the backcourt, look for 5'6" senior Jenny Fruth and 5'6" senior Sandy Ziegler to start. Brand tops the team in scoring at 11.3 pp, grabs 4.6 rpg., has passed for 27 assists and made 17 steals. Hrovat is second in scoring at 9.3 ppg., grabs 4.6 rpg., cans 52.3 percent of her field goals and 83 percent of her foul shots. Crawford has started nine games, including Saturday against John Carroll. She averages 5.2 ppg. and 3. rpg. Fruth scores 5.7 ppg., grabs 2.7 rpg., has passed for 39 assists and made 28 steals. Ziegler scores 6.1 ppg., grabs 2.5 rpg. and leads the team with 44 assists.
Off the bench, look for Coach Durand to play 5'2" freshman guard Jenny Markle, 5'9" senior forward Jenny Beane, 5'10 sophopmore forward Danielle Andresen, 5'8" freshman guard Megan Cevasco and 5'6" sophomore guard Sarah Giese. Also, 5'4" sophomore guard Diana Smith has played in 15 games. Markle is the top bench player in scoring at 6.2 points per game and is among the nation's best Division III three-point shooters, canning 51.3 percent (39-of-76).
In The First Meeting This Season Between B-W and ONU on December 15, 2004 in Ada: B-W -- 67, ONU -- 45 -- In the In the first meeting this season between B-W and ONU, on Dec. 15, 2004 in Ada, the Yellow Jackets beat the Polar Bears, 67-45. B-W was led by freshman guard Ashley Westenbarger with a career-high 15 points as she canned four-of-five three-pointers. Freshman forward Cara Shiplett had 10 points and a team-high five rebounds. ONU was led by senior guard Jenny Furth with 13 points and freshman forward Erin Brand with 10 points.
In The Second Meeting This Season Between B-W and ONU on Feb. 16, 2005 in Berea: B-W -- 74, ONU -- 56 -- In the second meeting this season between B-W and ONU on Feb. 16 in Berea, the Yellow Jackets defeated ONU, 74-56, at the Ursprung Gymnasium. Junior point guard Nikki Altenweg led B-W with 14 points and six assists. Freshman forward Cara Shiplett also had 11 points. Sophomore forwards Danielle Andreasen and Kristin Crawford led ONU with 18 and 14 points, respectively.
In B-W's Last Game on February 19, 2005 versus Capital in Bexley, Ohio: Baldwin-Wallace -- 84, Capital -- 68 -- In B-W's last game, an 84-68 win against Capital University last Saturday at The Capital Center in Bexley, the Yellow Jackets won their eighth straight game and 14th of their last 15 overall to improve to 20-5 overall and 16-2 in the OAC and capture a share of the OAC regular season crown for the second straight year. Junior point guard Nikki Altenweg led B-W with a career-high 21 points and sophomore "sixth player" Steffani Jaworski scored 13 points and canned three three-pointers.
Yellow Jacket Chatter
Nikki Altenweg is Among the Top All-Time Assist Markers and Steal Leaders -- Junior point guard Nikki Altenweg (Perry) now has 255 career assists and 155 career steals to rank 10th in assists and eighth in steals. Altenweg is three assists from supplanting current OAC Media Relations Director Julie Work (1995-99) from ninth place and seven shy of Connie Gribben (1986-90) and eighth place. Her 155 steals are eighth and six shy of seventh place.
Cheri Harrer Needs Two Victories to Reach The 300-Win Plateau -- Yellow Jacket veteran Head Coach Cheri Harrer is the winningest women's basketball coach in B-W history with 298 victories and needs two more to reach the 300-win plateau. Harrer is 298-113 in 15 seasons at B-W.
OAC Titles and NCAA Excellence --- The Baldwin-Wallace College women's basketball team won its second straight Ohio Athletic Conference co-title and its 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. 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 seven of the last nine years, including in 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 when it advanced to the "Elite Eight" each year.
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 20-5 overall record. During that time span, B-Whas a 214-39 overall record. The nine straight winning seasons is the second longest 20-win streak in OAC 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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