A solid team performance Tuesday evening against Kansas Wesleyan University after two back-to-back wins in the Benedictine Classic leaves the women’s basketball team on a three-game winning streak and improved to 4-1 overall.
The ‘Cats beat the Coyotes 73-67 in Collins Center. Baker’s offensive execution against an unusual zone was able to adjust to the different look by shooting 53 percent from the field, and the Wildcat defense held the Coyotes to 37 percent shooting.
“I thought we did some really, really good things,” head coach Susan Decker said about her team’s overall performance. “I was really pleased with our execution against the zone, which we haven’t seen much of this year, especially 40 minutes of it.”
Leading Baker’s offense was sophomore Aubree Gustin, who punched in 17 points. Right behind Gustin was freshman Rae Lynne Stewart, who had a breakout performance as she scored 14 points and shot seven for nine from the field. Stewart said she credits her teammates for their help and support.
“I’m very excited about my performance,” Stewart said. “Being a freshman, you really have to earn a position on the team. (Decker) gave me a chance last week, and I just kind of ran with it.”
Decker said the game gave her confidence in Stewart and also boosted the players’ confidence.
“She just did some great things that were totally unexpected,” Decker said. “It’s nice to see somebody with clear athleticism get in there and work against that zone. She was in the right place at the right time every time she caught it.”
Sophomore Audrey Bryant also posted high numbers with a double-double performance: 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Baker gave Kansas Wesleyan no contest on the boards as it grabbed 49 to the Coyotes’ 29. The team also outscored the Coyotes in bench, scoring 27 to nine.
Gustin said the game was truly a team effort.
“I thought we had a whole bunch of different people who scored,” Gustin said. “Our bench really helped contribute to our win.”
The ‘Cats also collected two wins in the Benedictine Classic last weekend in Atchison with victories over Park University (67-53) and Ottawa University (69-49).
The women took on Southwestern College in a road game Thursday night, but results were unavailable at presstime.
The team’s next test is Tuesday in Wichita against Friends University.
