02/22/08
Pink shirts and pink laces didn’t give the Wildcats any pink power on Valentine’s Day as Culver-Stockton College came into Baldwin City and stole a game from the Wildcats 48-43. Bad luck contiued for the ‘Cats as they dropped another conference game to Mo. Valley on Thursday.
Season at a glance
Three nights after snapping an 18-game losing streak, Culver-Stockton beat Baker for just its second conference win of the season.
Neither team could find a rhythm in the first half and combined for just 32 points. Culver-Stockton held a narrow two-point lead going into the break 17-15.
The second half was much of the same for the two sides, but Culver-Stockton found just enough left in the tank to pull away for a 48-43 victory.
Culver-Stockton netted 39 percent of its field goal attempts, while Baker made just 34 percent from the field.
Senior Allie Heinen and junior Kaitlin Schneden combined for 31 of the ‘Cats’ points.
Freshman Aubree Gustin said the team couldn’t get on track all night.
“Things just weren’t clicking right for us,” she said. “Not just for one person, but for everyone. We couldn’t make shots when it counted, and that really hurt us down the stretch.”
All season the Wildcats have relied on buckets in transition, but the ‘Cats failed to score on the run against Culver-Stockton, sophomore Tayler Stacks said.
“We didn’t do what we do best and that’s run,” Stacks said. “For us to be successful, we have to get turnovers and make baskets in transition.”
During pregame warm-ups, both teams and all teams throughout the Heart of America Athletic Conference wore “Think Pink” T-shirts honoring Breast Cancer Awareness month, with the proceeds from the sale of the shirt going to help breast cancer research.
However, the ‘Cats took it a step further, tying up their kicks with pink laces.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States.
According to the American Cancer Society, it’s estimated that about 178,480 women in the United States will be found to have invasive breast cancer in 2007. About 40,460 women will die from the disease this year.
Right now, slightly more than 2 million women living in the United States have been treated for breast cancer. The Baker women’s basketball team just wanted to do its part, Gustin said.
“I’ve never done anything like that, and it was really nice to be able to show our support,” she said. “It’s a really important cause, and it’s great that we could show we care.”
The Wildcats returned to the court Thursday for Senior Night in Collins Center, but were unable to come up with a result against the Mo. Valley Vikings. Seniors that were honored include Heinen and Erin Oliver.
While Heinen capped off her career with 17 points in her final game, her team fell 65-51.
Turnovers and lack of composure from the charity stripe cursed the ‘Cats, as they put the ball on the floor 22 times and shot a dismal 3-11 from the free throw line.
The Wildcats are 15-14 overall and 9-9 in the HAAC. While the women are still in the playoffs, the loss has hampered their chances at hosting a home game.
Baker will wrap up its regular season schedule at 2 p.m. Saturday against Evangel in Springfield, Mo.
