Box Score
BEREA, Ohio – The Otterbein University women’s basketball team got itself back into the win column Saturday afternoon, notching a 71-60 road victory at conference foe Baldwin Wallace University.
The win pushes Otterbein to 7-3 on the season and 3-2 in Ohio Athletic Conference play, with the loss dropping the Yellow Jackets to 4-5 overall and 1-4 against league opponents.
Seniors Rachel Snedegar and Chelsea Cannon tallied a season-high in scoring with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Sophomore Tabatha Piper just missed a double-double with 15 points and nine boards while senior Allie Leopard matched a season-high in points with 11.
"This was one of the first complete games we have played this season," head coach Connie Richardson said. "With the exception of a few sporadic minutes, we executed on both ends of the floor and I couldn't be more proud of our group. It would have been easy to not respond after the loss to Ohio Northern."
Otterbein held a 35-27 halftime lead and bumped its margin to double-digits early in the second half, but the Jackets stayed close and trailed 42-37 just moments later.
The next eight-minute stretch proved to be the difference as Otterbein scored 10 quick points and ultimately put together a 20-5 run, surging to a 63-42 advantage with 7:27 to go.
The Jackets closed the gap down the stretch but the Cardinal lead would be too much to overcome.
“I thought we really came together and played well today,” said Snedegar, who came off the bench for the first time this season. “Everyone took it up a level and played their part effectively. For me personally, I was able to focus on slowing down and collecting myself each possession. That helped me make the best decisions for my team.”
Snedegar scored her game-high 18 points on 8 of 12 shooting over just 23 minutes of action.
Otterbein shot a solid .500 (31 of 62) from the field, bouncing back nicely after struggling in its previous outing against Ohio Northern University.
Sophomore Chelsea Reed, starting in place of Snedegar, dished out a game-high six assists and now leads the Cards with 33 on the season.
The Cardinal defense kept BW in check, forcing the Yellow Jackets to 18 of 68 from the field and 5 of 27 from three-point range. Otterbein finished with 14 steals as a team.
No Baldwin Wallace player scored in double figures as Audrey Smolik and Allyson Helleis each posted a team-best nine points.
Both sides tallied 28 second-chance points while also getting 28 points from their respective benches.
Otterbein returns to action next weekend as part of its annual Smokey Ballenger Classic. The Cardinals will host Frostburg State University (Md.) at 6 p.m. in the Rike Center before taking on Thiel College (Pa.) Saturday evening.
