by BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Playing on its home court for the first time of the 2023-24 season, Baker women’s basketball fell to Benedictine, 70-53 in the opening game of Heart of America play on Wednesday evening in the Collins Center.
The Ravens controlled the game for three quarters, seeing their largest lead of the game (30) come at the 4:52 mark of the third quarter before the Wildcats mounted a valiant rally in the fourth quarter to make things interesting, but the visitors would hold on to earn the conference-opening win.
Jaelyn Two Hearts led BU with a game-high 20 points with 15 of them coming in the second half of play. Emma Cunningham notched her first double-double of the season after following Two Hearts in scoring with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Leah Van Weelden chipped in eight points, six rebounds and four steals in an all-around effort for the senior from Marion, Iowa.
Benedictine opened up the game with a dominating quarter that saw them hold the Wildcats without a basket for nearly the entirety of the period. With Cunningham scoring in the first minute, Two Hearts drilled a three with 25 seconds left to snap the scoreless stretch as BC jumped out to a 21-5 lead after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Cunningham tallied a second-chance opportunity early in the frame as part of six straight points for the senior forward. With over six minutes remaining, Two Hearts knocked down a jumper to make it an 11-point deficit for BU. The Ravens responded with three consecutive three-point trips to stretch their cushion back out before eventually crossing into a 20-point lead with their fourth 3-pointer of the period.
Van Weelden and Matalina Ochoa closed out the first half with offensive stick-backs on consecutive trips for BU with Ochoa’s capping the halftime score at 40-22 in favor of BC.
The Ravens posted an 11-0 run to begin the second half before Cunningham drained a three to halt the scoring stretch. Two Hearts added another triple for the Wildcats a little later to make 53-28 midway through the quarter.
After trailing by 30 points, Baker started to turn things around late in the third quarter with Two Hearts and Van Weelden connecting on back-to-back jumpers. Two Hearts sank another three right before the buzzer to make it a 62-39 ballgame heading into the final period.
Holding the Ravens to just eight points the rest of the way, the Wildcats opened up the fourth with nine unanswered points to get BU within 13 points with just over six minutes remaining. Two Hearts made it a 12-point game with 3:28 left, but that’s as close as Baker’s comeback would get as BC hunkered down to come away with the road win.
For Two Hearts, it marked her second 20-point outing this season as the Haskell transfer has scored in double figures in three of her first five games as a Wildcat. Cunningham’s double-double was the fourth of her BU career after recording three last year in her junior campaign.
