Shortly after losing the first game of the season to College of the Ozarks, the Baker University women’s basketball team bounced back in the home opener with a victory over Manhattan Christian College.
“We were focused and determined going into the first game of the season,” junior point guard BriAnna Garza said. “We knew we were playing with a chip on our shoulder to prove that we have a better team than last year.”
In spite of the determination, Baker fell to College of the Ozarks 87-59 Friday.
The Bobcats were able to shoot 50 percent from the floor and 32 of their points resulted from the 27 turnovers Baker recorded on the night.
Thirty of the Wildcats’ 59 total points came from the bench as junior Ciarra Washington and sophomore Kyrstie Ehm each picked up nine and freshman Ericka Simpson added six points of her own.
Baker did out rebound the Bobcats 35-31, and sophomore Rashida Simpson led the team with 10. Gorza led the Wildcats overall with 17 points, three rebounds and two assists.
“Losing by 30 points is something a team of our talent should never do,” Garza said. “But it was the first game of the season and a good learning experience, so we just have to take it with a grain of salt and move forward.”
Resiliency was key for the Wildcats as they stepped on their home court for the first time of the season to defeat MCC by 40 points Saturday.
“We came out with fire,” Garza said. “Coach (Ben Lister) told us to play angry. We wanted to redeem ourselves from the night before and when we did, it was a definite confidence boost.”
Baker maintained the lead over MCC throughout the game, which ended with a final score of 89-49.
After Lister took a timeout with about 14 minutes left in the first half, the ‘Cats came out in a full-court press. The Crusaders didn’t handle the pressure well and struggled getting the ball across half court, allowing Baker to break away and head into halftime with a 47-22 lead.
The Crusaders were held to a field goal percentage of 27.9, while the Wildcats shot and made 34 of 68 from the field for a shooting average of 50-percent.
Simpson scored a team high 16 points and Ehm was close behind her with 13 of her own. Eleven other Wildcats were able to make buckets including sophomore Avery Vogts, who sunk two 3-pointers.
Freshman Macy Wallisch had seven of the 53 rebounds Baker recorded. Manhattan Christian was only able to grab 23 rebounds.
Despite the loss to College of the Ozarks, Garza is pleased with her team’s overall performance on the weekend and remains confident in its future.
“There are always improvements to be made, but I am optimistic about our chances for the rest of the season,” Garza said. “Our talent level is at a different place than it has been and we want to win not only for the sake of wanting it, but also for our team to gain respect.”
The Wildcats’ next chance to prove themselves on the court will be when they take on Haskell Indian Nations University at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in Collins Center.
