Written by Athletic Communications Student Assistant Alex Dettmer '27  
  
BEREA, Ohio - The No. 8 nationally ranked and top-seeded Baldwin Wallace women's basketball team defeated the Polar Bears of Ohio Northern University in the Ohio Athletic Conference Semifinals game by a final score of 49-34 in Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center. 

Led by back-to-back OAC Coach-of-the-Year Cheri Harrer, the Jackets were able to overcome three quarters of back-and-forth scoring to pull away in the fourth quarter. The Jackets continued to defend the home court, extending the home win streak to 30 straight games. The Brown and Gold also extended their season winning streak to 21 games. 

BW Leaders (24-2, 16-0 OAC)

• Junior guard and 2025-26 First Team All-OAC selection Laura McCoy (Newton Falls/Garrettsville Garfield) was the leading scorer for the Jackets with nine points and added one rebound and three steals, tying her career best 
• Junior guard Kayla Jones (Grove City) led BW with 10 rebounds  
• Junior Academic All-OAC guard/forward and 2025-26 OAC Defensive Player of the Year Alyssa Miller (New Philadelphia) led the Brown and Gold with three blocks and tallied up eight points 
• Senior Academic All-OAC and 2025-26 All-OAC honorable mention forward Brooke Thompson (Maineville/Little Miami) got two blocks of her own while also grabbing six rebounds and four points 
• Junior guard and 2025-26 All-OAC Honorable Mention Ava Wilkerson (West Mansfield / Marysville) led the team in assists while also scoring eight points 

Ohio Northern Leaders (10-17, 8-8 OAC)  

• Charlotte Pauling led ONU scorers with 14 also tacking on two blocks and steals 
• Gabi Croft led the Polar Bears with eight rebounds and had two blocks 
• Emerson Gray tied Pauling for the team lead on steals with two 

1st Quarter (BW 11-9)  

• The Jackets went on a 7-0 run to open play with layups from Thompson and sophomore guard Elise Champagne (Columbia Station/Columbia), plus a three-pointer from Jones 
• ONU responded with their own 5-0 run with a shot inside the paint from Courtney Sumner and a three-pointer from Croft 
• At the 2:26 mark, ONU then went on a 4-2 run to get back within two points of the Jackets 
• The Polar Bears out-rebounded the Jackets off the glass 11-7 
• Emerson Gray went 2-2 on the only free throws of the quarter for ONU 
• ONU turned over the ball six times 

2nd Quarter (BW 24-19) 

• At the halfway mark of the quarter, the only points were made from the free throw line 
• ONU was able to score the first points off two free throws from Pauling 
• The Jackets responded going three for four on their free throw attempts with shots from senior guard Leah Riley (Cincinnati/Sycamore) and Champagne  
• To cap out the second quarter BW went on a 10-8 run including three-pointers from Champagne and McCoy 
• The Brown and Gold out-rebounded ONU 12-10 this quarter 
• The Jackets also tallied up six offensive rebounds 
• BW turned over the ball five times  

3rd Quarter (BW 35-33)  

• The Jackets stung first with Miller scoring the mid-range jumper to put the Jackets up 26-19 early 
• Emmerson Grey gave ONU its first points of the half with a three-pointer 
• Miller was able to capitalize, making a critical three-pointer late in the quarter 
• Both teams went back and forth but BW was able to maintain the lead going into the final quarter 
• McCoy, Miller, and Champagne led BW scorers each with seven points 
• BW out-rebounded Ohio Northern 11-8 
• Both teams connected for one three-pointer 

 
4th Quarter (BW 49-34) 

• The Jackets exploded in the fourth, holding ONU to only one point the entire quarter 
• Jones got the scoring started for the Jackets with a mid-range jumper in the opening minute 
• Junior guard Taylor Bass (Strongsville) and Wilkerson joined in on the fun hitting back-to-back three-pointers to put the Jackets up by 10 
• All points in the final six minutes were scored on the free throw line  
• The Jackets held ONU to go 0-13 from the field in the final quarter 
• The Jackets out-rebounded the Polar Bears 12-11 

Up Next  

• The No. 8 Yellow Jackets (24-2) will host second-seeded Otterbein in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game. The game is at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 28th in Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Recreation Center. Fans can catch all the action on FloCollege.