Wildcats Start Strong, Fizzle Out in Road Loss at No. 12 MNU

OLATHE, Kan. - Despite a strong start, Baker women's basketball dropped its ranked matchup at No. 12 MidAmerica Nazarene, 66-41, on Tuesday night, closing out a three-game road stretch for the Wildcats.

BU opened up with a 15-12 advantage after the first quarter, but the one-loss Pioneers quickly fired back with a 21-5 run in the second period before maintaining control in the second half to stay undefeated in conference play.

Coming into the night averaging over 23 attempts per game, Baker was held to a season-low six trips to the free-throw line and sank just one of them. The Wildcats went 6-for-17 from three, while MNU shot 44 percent from the floor (25-of-57) and made seven 3-pointers.

Taniya Tease led BU in scoring with 12 points, while adding in three assists, two steals and a block. Skye Pepp had eight points, eight rebounds and dished out three assists.

After MNU jumped out to a 5-0 lead, Baker took control in the opening quarter, using a pair of Kennedy Bryan threes and back-to-back buckets from Pepp to go in front midway through the frame. Tease tallied her first point and a free throw from Gabby Rose capped a 15-12 start for BU.

The Pioneers immediately responded in the second quarter, scoring 21 of the 26 points in the period to take a double-digit halftime lead.

Rose tried to kickstart a second-half rally with an early trey in the third period, but MNU stretched its lead out to 46-29 with less than five minutes left in the quarter. Tease strung together a couple of baskets, including her second three of the game, to make it a 48-34 deficit for BU heading into the fourth.

MNU delivered another strong defensive performance in the final quarter, holding the Wildcats to another single-digit frame and sealing the game on an 18-5 run. Nevaeh Leeks and Hallie Smires had five of the seven points in the quarter for BU as both players recently made their season debuts.

After winning two of their first three matchups away from Baldwin City, the Wildcats have dropped back-to-back road contests on the tail end of an early conference road swing.

Baker will take an eight-day break before returning to the Collins Center to host Peru State for a Heart showdown on December 3 at 5:30 p.m.

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