Big Fourth Quarter Pushes Wildcats Past Pride, 72-66

BALDWIN CITY - Trailing by four, the Baker women's basketball team exploded for 24 points in the final quarter to take down Clarke, 72-66 on Saturday afternoon in the Collins Center.

The Wildcats held a four-point lead of their own at the halfway point of the game and weathered a third-quarter comeback from the Pride before going on their big fourth-quarter run.

With both sides shooting about the same from the floor, BU boasted a significant advantage at the line, going 20-for-25 (80%), while Clarke ended up less than 50 percent with a 6-for-13 mark from the charity stripe.

Alyssa Morris made four threes and poured in 21 points to lead a balanced scoring effort for BU. Sophia Barrett (14 points) and Rihanna Blanchard (13 points) each finished with a double-double in the game with both players pulling down 11 rebounds. Taniya Tease scored 13 points and Destiny Kiner had 11 to put all five BU starters in double digits.

Clarke buried two 3-pointers to take a quick 8-0 lead to start the game before the Wildcats held them to just seven points the rest of the quarter. Blanchard got Baker going with a couple of nice drives and Morris and Tease both knocked down triples to give BU a 16-15 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.

Barrett kicked off the second quarter with back-to-back buckets and scored on a breakaway a little bit later after Blanchard earned a steal to make it a 26-20 lead for BU. With the cushion stretching out to eight points, Kiner came through with a couple of layups down the stretch as the Wildcats took a 36-32 lead into the break.

After a Morris triple and another layup from Kiner, the Pride started to put together their comeback a few minutes into the third period with a big 14-2 run that saw them turn a five-point deficit into a 48-43 lead with three minutes left to go in the quarter.

Kiner nailed a three and Tease got a second-chance opportunity to fall before the buzzer to bring the Wildcats within four going into the final period.

The first play of the decisive quarter saw Morris sink another one from deep and then, about a minute later, she was fouled on a three-point shot and swished all three ensuing free throws to push Baker back in front at 55-52.

Clarke reclaimed the lead on a three with over five minutes left, but the Wildcats responded with a pair of Tease free throws, followed by Morris' fourth trey of the game to take a four-point lead with 3:08 left to play.

Baker forced three turnovers over the course of the next minute and Morris and Tease each knocked down their free throws as the Wildcats earned their first conference win of the season with a 72-66 victory.

Up next, the Wildcats begin a tough road stretch with five of their next six games coming away from Baldwin City, starting with a matchup at Missouri Valley on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 5:30 p.m. in Marshall, Mo.

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