Wildcats Fall in Overtime Heartbreaker to Yellowjackets in First Game of 2025

BALDWIN CITY - After going to overtime in an exhibition game before the break, Baker women's basketball fell short in its second straight overtime battle, falling to Graceland, 80-79 in the Wildcats' first game of the new year.

The Wildcats hit a go-ahead jumper to take the lead with one second left in regulation before a Yellowjackets' buzzer-beater sent things to an extra period. Then, BU tied things up with three seconds left in overtime, only to have GU play spoiler yet again with a last-second free throw.

Destiny Kiner led a balanced scoring effort for BU with a game-high 22 points, doing a chunk of her damage from the free-throw line where she missed just one of her 13 free throws in the game. Alyssa Morris followed with 17 points, while Sophia Barrett had 16 points and eight rebounds. Taniya Tease reached double figures as well, chipping in 12 points to go along with her seven assists.

Both teams shook off the holiday rust in the early going before getting things going midway through the first quarter. A three from Maddie Wilbeck off the bench capped an 8-0 start for BU and Morris followed with another one from deep to make it a 13-3 lead. The Yellowjackets worked their way back to trail by three after the opening 10 minutes.

After Graceland went in front in the second quarter, the Wildcats connected on three straight three-point plays to retake the lead at 24-17. Barrett splashed in a three to spark the run, followed by an old-fashioned three-point play from Kiner and then Morris punctuated it with her second three of the half.

The Yellowjackets climbed back to make it a one-point ballgame before Tease fired in a three and got a layup to fall on a nice pass from Barrett to score the final points of the half and give Baker a 31-25 halftime lead.

In the second half, buckets from Kiner and Barrett kept the Wildcats on top for a while until a GU jumper put the visitors back in front with less than four minutes left in the quarter. With time winding down, the Yellowjackets got a big swing after being fouled on a 3-pointer and then knocking down all three free throws, but an offensive put-back from Morris knotted the game at 47-47 heading into the fourth quarter.

A well-executed set play from Kiner to Rihanna Blanchard put the Wildcats up by two just a few minutes into the frame and the duo each chipped in a couple more points to make it a 58-52 lead for BU with 5:10 left to play.

Two more free throws from Kiner kept the Wildcats' lead at six points, but the Yellowjackets scored on three straight possessions to tie it up at 62-62 with less than a minute to go. Blanchard got a tough layup to fall before GU responded with another quick bucket to bring the game to a deadlock once again.

After advancing the ball on a timeout following Kiner's made free throw, Graceland got a running jumper to fall before time expired to send the game to overtime at 66-66.

Playing in their first overtime game at home, the Wildcats used a three from Morris and a layup by Tease to hold serve as the two teams continued the seesaw battle in the extra period. Morris slashed her way to an open layup to put Baker in front by one with less than 30 seconds left before Graceland followed with a go-ahead layup of its own.

Barrett looked to force the game to a second overtime with a game-tying free throw with three seconds left, but the Yellowjackets were able to draw a foul on their last-second shot and knocked down the second free throw to steal the conference battle, 80-79.

Up next, Baker is scheduled to play at William Penn on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

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