The Wildcats came out of the starting gate on fire winning two games in the Baker Classic Friday and Saturday but were unable to start a streak losing to Sterling College Tuesday in the Collins Center.
With the ‘Cats only suiting up six returning players, head coach Susan Decker said she was somewhat surprised by the start of her inexperienced team.
“We opened up (the season) very strong,” Decker said. “I was pleased with our effort and our work ethic for the most part in the first two games.”
In Friday’s season opener, sophomore Lauren Shufelberger and senior Molly Ediger led a balanced Wildcat attack scoring 16 points each in a 67 – 62 win against Missouri Baptist University. Senior Amanda Yates added 14 points and 11 rebounds for her first double – double of the year.
Less than 20 hours after the tip of their season opener, the ‘Cats returned to the Collins Center to face Kansas Wesleyan University. Hampered by tired legs and a tough opponent, Baker was pushed to the limit on Saturday. Baker managed to hold off the Coyotes winning 52 – 50. Yates helped the team with another double – double scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
However, the Wildcats couldn’t carry their winning ways into the work – week. On Tuesday, the Warriors of Sterling College worn down the Baker attack and exposed the ‘Cats inexperience. Sterling won 75 – 48.
“We are still trying to find ourselves and some (players) are trying to find out their roles on this team,” Decker said. “(Tuesday) night was not an indicator of the way we play.”
Ediger said the team failed to capitalize on chances to get back into the game.
“We just got impatient,” she said. “We hurried everything. We need to run through our offense. We need to get good shots and we need to hit those shots. We had chances to cut into the lead and we didn’t.”
Indeed, the Achilles’ heel of the ‘Cats was their shooting touch. Baker shot slightly less than 25 percent from the floor against Sterling.
Decker said momentum was a major factor in the game against Sterling.
“The biggest thing was we couldn’t get anything going,” she said. “We couldn’t get shots and couldn’t hit free throws to get back into (the game).”
Freshman guard Tayler Stacks said the team came out flat on Tuesday,
“I think we played well together and were intense in the first two games but we kind of lost our intensity in the third game,” she said.
Redshirt freshman guard Kendra Schaefer said the team has some things to work on when they take the floor again.
“At times, we play well as a team but we need to focus on team unity and not individual problems,” she said.
The four other freshman and four transfers gave Baker a lift, Schaefer said.
“They worked really hard for us. They really helped off the bench and provided a spark when we needed it,” Schaefer said.
Decker said she did see her young team get better and one player solidify a position in the first three games. Coming into the season, a major point of emphasis for Decker was finding someone who could run the point. To this point, Schaefer has filled in nicely and her play has been slightly surprising, Decker said.
“I’d say right now she is our most consistent player,” Decker said. “She has done everything I’ve asked her to do: run the point, play tight defense and she has done a good job running our sets. She’s done all the little things that you don’t see in a stat sheet. I wasn’t thinking we would rely on her this much but she has surprised me.”
The Wildcats will look to get a couple more tallies in the win column when they head to Parkville, Mo. to compete in the Park Classic. Baker will face the host team, Park University, in a prime-time start at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Then, the ‘Cats will take on Ottawa University at 4 p.m. Saturday.
