The No. 13-ranked Benedictine women’s basketball team jumped out to a 15-0 lead and the weathered an offensive drought through the middle third of the game to earn a 73-57 win over Peru State College on Thursday night inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium.

Benedictine (23-4, 13-2 HAAC) continued their hot shooting from the charity stripe, knocking in 10 straight before finishing the night 20 of 22. Peru State (11-16, 6-9 HAAC) went 6 of 8 to finish at 75 percent.

With only nine players suited out, Peru State suprising outscored the Benedictine bench 26-18.

Five Ravens finished in double figures, led by the 15 points of guard Kelsey Anselmi. Anselmi also tallied six assists in the win to close wihin nine assists of the Ravens career record for assists.

Jasmine Lockwood led Peru State with 13 points and was the only Bobcat in double figures.

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The No. 22 Mid America Nazarene Pioneers earned a comeback win against Benedictine College on Saturday afternoon, outscoring Benedictine 45-32 in the second half to win 79-71.

Benedictine (16-9; 8-6 HAAC) was going for the season sweep over MNU (19-7, 11-3 HAAC) for just the second time since joining the HAAC for the 1992-93 season but couldn’t slow down the Pioneers in the second half.

MNU hit 51.6 percent from the floor while Benedictine converted on 54.5 percent with the difference in the second half coming from beyond the arc.

The Pioneers hit 4 of 9 from beyond the arc in the second half to the Ravens 1 of 6 effort.

MNU’s Rustin Dowd scored a game-high 16 points to lead four players in double figures while Charlie Wallrapp led Benedictine with 14 points.

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After leading by two points at the half, the NAIA Div. I No. 14 Benedictine College women’s basketball team was 36-29 in the second half by No. 9 MNU as the Pioneers earned a 70-65 win over the Ravens.

Benedictine (22-4, 12-2 HAAC) only two conference losses have come at the hands of the MNU (23-2, 13-1 HAAC), who takes over sole possesion of first place in the conference standings with the win.

MNU used a 48 percent shooting effort in the second half to erase a two-point halftime deficit and limited Benedictine to just eight second-half field goals.

Benedictine hit 90 percent from the charity stripe in the loss, which kept them in the game as they were limited to just 17 field goals over 40 minutes of action.

Daria Sprew scored a game-high 16 points for MNU, which finished with three players in double figures while Justice Payne led Benedictine with 13 points.

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The Benedictine College men’s basketball team started off the second half of HAAC play on Thursday night with a 63-51 win over Graceland University inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium.

Benedictine (15-6, 7-3 HAAC) hit 52.2 percent from the floor in the first half to lead 31-17 as they held Graceland (5-16, 2-8 HAAC) to just six first-half field goals.

The Ravens got 29 points off the bench in the win, which was good for a 20-point advantage for Benedictine.

Benedictine guards Shawn Flemming Jr., and Brett Fisher led the Ravens with 12 points each with Flemming’s point total accounting for nearly half of the Ravens bench production. Forward Charlie Wallrapp added 11 points.

Graceland was led in scoring by the game-high 15 points of forward Alex Roth. Guard Jamal Lawson added 14.  The Yellowjacket duo accounted for over half of Graceland’s point total as the remaining seven players scored just 22 points.

Benedictine hits the road Saturday at 4 p.m. for a match up with NAIA Div. I No. 19 Evangel University in Spingfield, Mo.

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The Benedictine (Kan.) College men’s basketball team committed a season-low seven turnovers on Thursday night en route to a 52-39 win in the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium over Baker University.

After suffering a set-back on Monday night on the road in a loss to Missouri Valley, Benedictine hit 43.1 percent from the floor to put away the Wildcats who only converted five second-half field goals.

Benedictine forward TJ Stevens scored a career-high 17 points in the win for the Ravens while guard John Harris Jr., chipped in with 10 points.

The Ravens held Baker leading scorer Ben Steinlage to 9 points, nearly five below his season average of 14.4 ppg.

The Ravens hit the road Saturday, traveling to Kansas City, Mo, for a 4 p.m. game against Avila University.

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The Raven women’s basketball team proved tonight they had the heart and skill to battle back from a double-digit deficit, as they defeated Baker University 61-58 in front of a loud home crowd.

Baker University (11-8, 4-3 HAAC) held a consistent lead throughout the majority of the game and were leading by as much as 11 points in the second half.

Guard Rosie Youngstrom (Jr., Fairway) brought the No. 17 Ravens (17-3, 7-1 HAAC) back to life when she turned back- to- back steals into uncontested layups, bringing the game within three, with under five minutes to go.

Guard Jackie Ziesel (So., St. Joseph, Mo) tied the game with a 3-point field goal with 2:46 left in the game. Ziesel later ensured the win for the Ravens, putting in another 3-point shot with 29 seconds left to play.

Guard Justice Payne led the Ravens with 12 points and went 3-8 from behind the 3-point line. Ziesel and post Liz Stinson (Sr., Stilwell) both had 10 points.

Baker outplayed Benedictine in the first half and had the upper hand under the basket with 19 offensive rebounds and 27 on the defensive glass.

“We got out-rebounded pretty hard, a lot of times they were ripping balls right out of our hands,” said Raven head coach Chad Folsom. “We’ve got to be stronger; we’ve got to be able to get those balls.”

In the end it was the defense and the big plays from several players that got the victory for the Ravens.

“We did a better job at attacking the basket second half,” said Folsom. “The press also did a good job; (it) didn’t allow them to set up, which allowed us an easier opportunity to defend. I thought Kelsey (Anselmi) made some great leads to get off that screen and find the post.”

Forward Erin Murphy (Sr., Olathe) led the Ravens with 9 rebounds.

Guard Alisha Fanshier scored 19 points for Baker, followed by guard Ericka Simpson with 12 points off the bench.

Forward Rece Huddlin recorded a game high of 11 rebounds for the Wildcats.

On Saturday the Ravens travel to Kansas City, Mo., to take on Avila University at 2 p.m. They return home next Thursday, Jan. 24, at 5:30 p.m. against Graceland University.

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It took a streaking 3-point shooting second half by Culver-Stockton College on Thursday night to force overtime with Benedictine inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium.

In the end, Culver-Stockton (13-3, 4-0 HAAC) outscored Benedictine (9-5; 1-2 HAAC) 11-7 in overtime to earn a 85-81 win.

Benedictine limited one of the NAIA’s top 3-point shooting teams to just three 3-pointers in the first half as the Ravens held a 31-29 lead over the Wildcats.

In the second half, Benedictine built as much as a 11 point lead before Culver-Stockton took fire from beyond the arc.

The Wildcats converted on six 3-pointers in the second half and two more in overtime to pull away from the Ravens.

Benedictine forward Charlie Wallrapp and Culver-Stockton guard Austin Keaton finished with a game-high 23 points.

The Ravens hit the road on Saturday for a 4 p.m. showdown in Olathe against NAIA Div. I No. 13 MNU inside the Cook Center on the MNU campus.

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