The Baker University women’s basketball team lost to No. 9 MidAmerica Nazarene University 59-55 in the semifinals of the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Saturday, March 2, in Olathe.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 4-0 advantage in the opening minutes on field goals by sophomore Rashida Simpson and senior Alisha Fanshier and the Pioneers were scoreless for the first four minutes and 51 seconds.
The Pioneers scored eight unanswered points over the next minute and a half to take an 8-4 advantage. Baker responded with an 8-4 run to tie it up 12-12 after a field goal from sophomore Kyrstie Ehm.
MidAmerica Nazarene did not allow the Wildcats to retake the lead for the remainder of the first half, though, as the Pioneers stretched their lead back to as many as seven midway through the first half and led 31-26 at the break.
While the Wildcats shot less than 30 percent from the field for the first half, they stayed in the game by knocking down eight of 10 free-throw attempts. Both teams turned the ball over 13 times in the first half.
Baker continued to force MNU to turn the ball over at the beginning of the second half as the Wildcats put on a full-court press. The press sparked the Wildcats’ 6-0 run to start the half and take a 32-31 lead.
MNU freshman Megan Balcom caught fire, though, by scoring 10 of her 14 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half to help the Pioneers build a 10-point lead at 53-43 with 6:35 to play.
The Wildcats clamped down defensively for the next three and a half minutes and went on a 10-1 run to pull within one. Simpson and junior BriAnna Garza combined for eight of the 10 points during the run to bring BU within 54-53 with 2:57 to play.
The Pioneers called a timeout to try to stop the Wildcats’ momentum and went on to outscore BU 5-1 for the remainder of the game to secure a spot in the HAAC title matchup against Central Methodist University.
Fanshier led the Wildcats with 15 points in the final game of her collegiate career. She was named as a first-team all-conference player after averaging 13.6 points a game.
Baker was picked to finish last in the HAAC to begin the season after a 6-24 campaign last season, but went on to finish 20-12 and tied for third in the conference. The 14-win improvement helped head coach Ben Lister earn the HAAC Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year.
