WAVERLY, Iowa - The No. 7-ranked Wartburg women's basketball team defeated No. 14/24 Baldwin-Wallace 79-48 during the first game of the Wartburg Holiday Tournament.
Payton Draper started off the game tallying four points during the first minute of the game. A three-pointer by
Amanda Brainerd at the 5:10-minute mark gave the Knights a 12 point lead over the Yellow Jackets. With just under two-minutes remaining in the first quarter, a layup by
Emma Gerdes gave the Orange and Black a 15 point lead.
The Knights held off Baldwin-Wallace to only scoring nine points in the second quarter, with Wartburg leading 38-24 at the half.
In the final three minutes of the game, Wartburg took its biggest lead over the Yellow Jackets when a good layup followed by a good free throw by
Kaitlyn Volesky gave the Orange and Black a 32 point lead. The Knights prevented Baldwin-Wallace from scoring any points in the final two-minutes of the game.
Emma Gerdes led the Knights with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Tori Hazard notched 13 points and one steal. Eight other Knights scored with 28 points coming from the bench. The Orange and Black were 26-of-15 in field goal shooting and 18-24 at the free throw line.
Wartburg had a total of 44 rebounds and five steals.
The Knights are now 10-1 overall and will play the winner of the matchup between No. 11 UW-Lacrosse vs. WashU on Monday at 3 pm for the championship game.
