The Lady Wildcats were seeking their first home victory as they faced a dominating co-leading Ravens in the Heart. For the men’s side, this was a must-win game to stay in strong contention for the Heart of America Conference tournament.
Shots were falling for junior Kennedy Bryan in the first quarter as she drained her first three shots behind the arc to keep the Lady Wildcats within striking distance going into the second quarter.
However, Benedictine was able to show why they should receive votes – ending the half up nineteen with a demanding 23-12 second quarter for the Ravens. This would be led by junior Riley Bruggeman, who controlled the Wildcats on both sides of the court.
Bryan would earn herself a hard-fought sixteen points with three rebounds to add to the night. Sophomore Gabby Rose continued to hold her average of fifteen points with a pair of rebounds and steals in the 85-57 loss.
The Men were seeking to earn their tenth win on the season, and it was nothing short of a battle on both sides of the ball.
Neither team could buy a shot with just four made threes behind the arc going into the break. Senior Myles Tucker, who leads the team in points per game for the Wildcats, was held to just two and left Baker down three as they headed into the locker room for halftime.
An exchange of threes from each team entering the second half showed a promising second half of play, but it was a 12-5 run for the Ravens led by junior Aiden Sullivan.
Any glimpse of momentum that got the packed Collins Center loud in Baldwin City – Benedictine responded instantly with some manpower of their own.
Junior Jack Vander Woude and sophomore Deaglan Sullivan led the Ravens to a 67-62 victory with sixteen points each, and Graduate Student Preston Reynolds nearly had a double-double, scoring eight points for the Ravens with twelve defensive rebounds.
Freshman Cam Jones continues to make his case for Heart Freshman of the Year, recording his second double-double of the season, scoring seventeen with twelve rebounds.
This was the start of a four-game homestand for the Wildcats, with just four games left in the regular season for both teams. They set out to face Park University this Sat. in the Collins Center with coverage beginning at 2 p.m. CST on the Urban Edge Network.
