INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – Baker (Kan.) used a big first quarter to propel into the 2016 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship title game, as the Wildcats defeated Benedictine (Kan.), 50-34, Monday night in semifinal action.
“I thought we shot the ball exceptionally well in the first half,” said Baker head coach Ben Lister. “We took rhythm shots, we weren’t forcing shots. I didn’t expect us to be in that good of a rhythm, but they were settled down right away and played extremely well.”
The Wildcats jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the first six minutes of the game after a layup from senior Macy Wallisch. Baker extended the advantage to 16 (23-7) when Kelsey Larson scored three of her nine points with 1:12 left in the quarter.
Baker was able to control the game into the second quarter, as Benedictine shot just 2-of-13 (15.3 percent) from the field. Baker ended the period on a 13-0 run to take a 21-point lead – its the largest of the first half – into the halftime break, 36-15.
Both teams struggled on offense in the third quarter, as the two teams scored six points each on a combined 5-of-27 shooting. Despite the shooting woes, Baker was able push its lead to a game-high 25 points.
The Ravens cut the lead to 14 in the final period, but that iss as close as they would get.
In the second half, the two teams combined for 33 points on 12-of-48 shooting from the field. Additionally, the two clubs were 3-of-19 from behind the 3-point line, including a 0-of-11 performance from distance from the Wildcats.
Benedictine was led in scoring by Ali Taff, who scored 12 points. Benedictine’s top three scorers in this championship (Jordan Kramer, Kristen Murphy and Chayla Rutledge), who were all averaging double figures, were held to just 14 points total.
Baker was led in scoring by Simpson’s season-high 24 points and was the only Wildcats player in double figures. Sydney Buchel recorded a two-point, nine-rebound, three-assist, and four-block performance.
After recording four blocks tonight, Wallisch now as a championship-high 18 blocks in four games. As a team, Baker, who ranks No. 1 in the NAIA in blocks per game (6.0) and total blocks (210), recorded 12 blocks in the game.
The Ravens, who ranked No. 10 in the NAIA in assists per game (15.3) and No. 5 in total assists (537), finished with just two assists on the night.
Baker dominated the paint, as they outscored the Ravens 24-10 in the paint and 12-4 in second chance points.
The Wildcats will appear in their first national title game against the winner of the No. 6-seed Pikeville (Ky.) and No. 2-seed MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.). The title game will start at 6:30 p.m.
— NAIA Press Release —