Women's college basketball: Baldwin Wallace hoping to reclaim top spot in OAC

Baldwin Wallace has become a regular in the Division III postseason. Fresh off its fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and another 20-win season, the Yellow Jackets now hope to reclaim the top spot in the Ohio Athletic Conference after finishing third last season. That won't be easy, as the league again looks to be one of the toughest women's basketball conferences in the country, but Baldwin Wallace — which just missed the cut of the D3hoops.com top 25 preseason poll — appears up for the challenge. The Yellow Jackets are off to a 2-1 start, their only loss coming in their last game, a 62-60 setback against Trine, the No. 13 team in the country. "We have the aspirations of winning an OAC championship and going as far as we can in the NCAA Tournament," said junior Bella Vaillant, one of three All-OAC selections returning this season. "But I think from an intangibles standpoint we really just want to be able to come together, have fun and enjoy the game that we all came here to play. If we do that, all of our goals are going to be at the tip of our fingers." Joining Vaillant are Emily Irwin, Caely Ressler, who look to build off of strong sophomore seasons. Irwin, a first-team All-OAC selection, was the team's leading scorer and finished eighth in the OAC at 11.6 per game while also finishing second in the OAC with 40 steals. She's appeared in 54 games during her two-year career with the Yellow Jackets. Ressler leads the team in scoring so far this season at 15.3 points. The Yellow Jackets will look to a variety of players with experience to round out the backcourt. Senior Carolyn Wochele has appeared in 69 career games with 204 points while junior Alek Johnson has 40 appearances. Sophomores Kaycie Badylak, Ali Menendez, Alyssa Miller and Leah Riley will also look to expand their roles. "We do a lot of workouts together," Irwin said. "We work together to find options on how to get one another open. We work hard and just push each other. We want to have fun and make those memories with each other, that will take a step into having a successful season." Vaillant was a second-team all-league pick who started all 28 games at forward. The 5-foot-11 junior finished fifth in the OAC with 182 rebounds while also serving as the team's No. 2 scorer with 302 points, adding 20 steals. Ressler, an honorable mention selection, missed the final seven games of the season after tearing her ACL, but the 5-11 forward was 10th in the OAC with 16 blocks, which also led the team. She was third on the team in points (183), rebounds (135) and steals (20) while also adding 26 assists. "It was awesome to be back on the court," Ressler said. "Most of my spring and summer consisted of rehab and getting healthy with the ultimate goal of being back for the start of the season. So getting back out there was awesome, but it was even more a testament to my teammates on how they helped build me back up throughout the entire process." Seniors Megan Jurosic, Kira Philpot and Sylvie Sonneman along with junior Sadie Arend and sophomore Brooke Thompson look to round out the post rotation. Philpot has 67 appearances while Sonneman has played in 69. Thompson played sparingly as a freshman with just five points, seven rebounds and one steal in her 10 appearances, but is the tallest player listed on the team at 6-2. Philpot, at 6-0, is the only other 6-footer on the roster. "Our seniors have done a really nice job bringing together everybody," Vaillant said. "Getting us on the same page and leading. We do a lot of workouts together, and it's an iron-sharpens-iron situation. We really make each other better every day and push each other. We love each other unconditionally and want the best for each other overall." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com and follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.