Women’s basketball team beats Ohio Wesleyan, 65-62, in first round of Hoops for Hope Classic

The Olivet College women's basketball team defeated Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU), 65-62, tonight in the first round of the OWU Hoops for Hope Classic inside the Branch Rickey Arena in Delaware, Ohio. Olivet will play Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) University in the championship game tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. Carnegie Mellon beat Franklin (Ind.), 65-61, in the other first round game.

The Comets' 12-point margin, 32-20, was their largest lead of the first half. In the second half, Olivet went ahead by 15 points, 41-26, at the 16:54 mark. The Battling Bishops came back and 20-4 run to take their first lead of the game, 46-45. OWU stretched its lead to five points, 52-47, with just under 10 minutes left in the game.

Olivet battled back to force ties at 55-55 and 57-57. After the 57-all deadlock, the Comets scored six straight points to put the game away. The Bishops closed to within two points in the final seconds of the game.

Sophomore Olivia Yarrell (Lansing/Sexton) led all scorers with a career-high 29 points. She missed her first shot, made first 14 straight baskets and missed her final shot. Junior Darcell Williams (Muskegon/Reeths-Puffer) joined her in double figures with 12 points. Senior Gabrielle Federau (Okemos) grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.

OWU placed four starters in double digits, led by Tyler Cordell's 16 points. Dany Finck was next with 15, followed by Kayla Gordon and Pam Quigney with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Gordon pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.