Box Score

BEREA, Ohio – The Otterbein women's basketball team dropped a crucial matchup in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play Saturday, falling at Baldwin Wallace, 68-58, inside Ursprung Gymnasium.

The Cardinals move to 9-12 overall and 5-9 in league play with four games left in the regular season, as they remain in the hunt for a spot in the upcoming eight-team OAC Tournament.

Otterbein trailed by eight points midway through the first quarter before manufacturing an 10-4 run to knot the score at 14 points apiece. Junior Kiersten Taylor and sophomore Dani Kissel combined for nine of the team's points in the opening frame.

A pair of ties occurred through the first 1:32 of the second period before the Cardinals tallied a slim 20-18 advantage over the Yellow Jackets following a layup by sophomore Ali Cartnal. BW then put together a 7-0 run to take a 25-20 lead before a layup by Kissel at the 5:08 mark ended the Cards' scoring-drought.

The Cards concluded the half by claiming nine of the final 14 points, including a made three-pointer by Kissel with just over a minute remaining, taking a 29-27 lead into the break. Otterbein finished the half shooting a healthy 56.5 percent from the floor.

Both teams went back and forth in the scoring column throughout the entire third period, while Otterbein totaled its most-points scored in a quarter on the day with a 19-18 margin over BW.

Neither team took more than a two-possession lead, as the Cards battled back from a six-point deficit to take a 48-45 advantage into the final quarter.

Otterbein boosted its lead to five points just 10 seconds into the final frame on a pair of made free throws by Kissel, before freshman Abbie Scholz again gave the Cards the same margin on a layup with 9:04 left to play.

The Yellow Jackets tied the game at 52 all two minutes later before a layup by Taylor gave the Cards back the lead at 54-52. That proved to be the final advantage for Otterbein as BW outscored the Cards, 16-4, over the final 5:33 of play.

Taylor finished with a game-high 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting, corralling eight rebounds with two assists. Kissel followed with 16 points on a 6-of-12 mark from the field, including a pair of made three-pointers.

Cartnal rounded out the scoring leaders for the Cards with 10 points, while the team shot 45.3 percent with a dominant 38-18 advantage in points in the paint. BW benefited from a 22-9 edge in bench points.