2022 OAC Championship Preview: Women's Basketball vs. Baldwin Wallace

2/26/2022 7:00:00 AM | By: Garrett Siegel, Senior Staff Writer

John Carroll won both previous matchups vs. BW this season.

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- John Carroll Women's Basketball is set to face Baldwin Wallace for the third consecutive year in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship Game. This is the third time in four years the Blue Streaks will host the OAC Championship, and second in a row.

John Carroll won both regular season games between the two teams, but the series is tied 1-1 in OAC Championship games. Baldwin Wallace's victory came back in 2020 by a score of 80-63. Last year, the Blue Streaks got revenge winning 83-71.

Due to COVID-19, neither team was able to complete their NCAA Tournament journeys. This year's rubber match has an automatic bid to the tournament on the line.

John Carroll (22-3, 15-2 OAC) is led by a starting five of veterans. Graduate student Nichole Heffington leads the Blue Streaks in points per game (15.4), steals (40), 3-point percentage (40.2%), and field goals made (151). Heffington just became the all-time leading scorer in JCU history on Thursday night as she scored 19 points in a 64-50 win over Ohio Northern.

Senior Olivia Nagy leads the team, OAC, and NCAA in blocks (113), and is the second-leading scorer (15.1 ppg). Nagy is red-hot on both sides of the ball right now, as she has two triple-doubles in her last three games. Nagy has 18 double-doubles out of 25 games, is a 3x OAC Defensive POY, 2020 OAC POY, 2022 COSIDA All-District, and was recognized as Player of the Week four times this season.

Hannah Bouchy, Gabrielle Gevaudan, and Abby Adler round out the usual starting five for the Blue Streaks, and each have been solid leaders and competitors on both sides of the ball. Sarah Balfour has also started a few games as of late. A usual first player off the bench, Balfour is shooting 37.8% from beyond the arc and 90.9% from the free throw line. Balfour has scored double figures in each of the last three games.

Baldwin Wallace (20-4, 15-2 OAC) are led by senior Lily Edwards. Edwards leads the Yellow Jackets in PPG (16.5) and RPG (8.4). She's shooting 52.7% from the field, has scored double digits in both games against John Carroll this season, and scored 27 points Thursday in the Semifinals against Mount Union. Edwards was an All American Honorable Mention and 1st team All-Ohio last season.

Megan Hensel is second on the team in PPG (8.7). Hensel had two solid games against JCU in the regular season, scoring 11 points in the first game, and nine in the second. Hensel is shooting 46.6% from the field and 41.9% from behind the arc.

The No. 1 seed and host has won both times the past two OAC finals. This year JCU is hosting, winning the tiebreaker over BW, as both teams won a share of the regular season championship. This is a game that almost all players on the floor have played significant time in before. The coaches have been here before as well. Two familiar opponents, cross town and conference rivals, with an automatic bid and Conference title on the line.

Catch all the action on jcusports.com and social media @jcusports for live updates.

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