Selecting an MVP from Tuesday’s 66-61 women’s basketball victory over Evangel University is like being a winning contestant on a game show with a Mercedes behind each of the three curtains.

Curtain No. 1 revealed Emily Gibson, a machine equipped with enough horsepower to grab 19 interior points and 13 rebounds. Jenna Brantley was a run-and-gun coupe that dished a school-record 10 assists, and her neighbor behind curtain No. 3, Brittany Hines, was all style, dropping 25 points on four 3-pointers.

Simply put, head coach Susan Decker drove off the lot smiling.

Her Wildcats jumped out to an early lead over the top-seeded Crusaders and never looked back, earning a memorable win in their opening HAAC contest.

“It was really important to get out to an early lead because once we get down, it’s hard to get back,” Gibson, a junior, said. “Against a team like Evangel we knew we had to come out strong.”

The Wildcats seemingly couldn’t miss in the opening minutes as they sprinted out of the gate to a 9-3 lead.

Hines was the spark plug for Baker, draining three early 3-pointers. She finished the night with 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field.

“I’ve been shooting pretty well in practice and I was just hoping it would carry over into the games,” Hines said. “I’ve been trying to relax and take my shots. Lately I had been tensing up.”

In addition to the standout performances from Gibson and Hines, both transfers, Brantley served as a more than capable floor general, tallying 10 assists for the second time this season. Brantley tied the school record earlier in the season on Nov. 10 against Friends University.

“We have a lot of good chemistry right now and it’s only going to get better,” Hines said.

Perhaps the most memorable aspect of the game was the way the Wildcats were able to withstand a courageous run by the Crusaders late in the second half. Evangel erased a 14-point lead with about 10 minutes to play, narrowing the gap all the way to three points down the stretch.

But Decker’s squad was resilient and drilled important free throws at the end of the game – a task it struggled with earlier in the contest. Baker finished the game 12-26 from the free throw stripe.

Baker played Benedictine College Thursday, but results were unavailable at presstime. <br/>