Wildcats Fall to Ottawa, 12-6, in First Setback of 2026

BALDWIN CITY - After getting off to a 5-0 start, the Baker women's flag football fell for the first time in 2026, dropping a home game to top-ranked Ottawa, 12-6, on Wednesday evening at Liston Stadium.

The Wildcats battled with the five-time defending national champion Braves for the whole game as the two KCAC teams posted a scoreless first half. OU scored on its opening possession of the third quarter and tacked on another score on its next series, which proved to be the difference-maker after BU's late touchdown.

Baker's defense was stellar all night long for the most part, coming up with three fourth-down stops and an interception courtesy of Faith Phillips to keep the Braves out of the endzone in the first half.

The Wildcats couldn't capitalize offensively on the short fields created by their defense, getting as close as the nine-yard line late in the second quarter before stalling out. Quarterback Tara Llorente orchestrated a nice drive that was boosted by an OU penalty to get into the red zone, but the Braves were able to break up a fourth-down pass.

After Ottawa broke the scoreless tie in the third quarter, a fourth-down gamble by Baker came up short and gave the ball back to the Braves inside the BU 20-yard line. The Braves punched in their second straight touchdown from two-yards out to take a 12-0 lead.

A costly interception squashed another scoring opportunity for BU early in the fourth quarter after the Wildcats were knocking on the door near the OU end zone. Following the turnover, the Braves were able to bleed a crucial chunk of clock before giving the ball back to BU.

With less than two minutes left to play, Kaley Phillips threw a couple passes to get Baker down close again and Llorente finally broke through to put the Wildcats on the scoreboard at 12-6 before the Braves ran out the clock.

Kaley Phillips led the Wildcats with 48 receiving yards on four catches, while Sanija Waller added five receptions for 35 yards. The interception was Faith Phillips' team-leading fourth of the season.

Up next, Baker will play for the third straight time at home, taking on Southwestern in a conference matchup on Saturday, March 14, at 1 p.m. in Liston Stadium.

#BakerBuildsChampions