Wildcats Rout Moundbuilders, 53-20, in Bounce-Back Win

BALDWIN CITY - After suffering its first setback of the 2026 season on Wednesday, the Baker women's flag football team got back on track in an impressive way on Saturday, soundly taking care of Southwestern, 53-20, in Liston Stadium.

The Wildcats exploded for 35 points in the first half, scoring five plays into the game to take the lead and never looked back. BU added another handful of scores and the Moundbuilders found the end zone a couple of times in the second half.

Tara Llorente finished with over 275 yards of offense and four total touchdowns after going 12-for-22 with 126 yards and two scores through the air while adding 150 yards on nine carries and two more touchdowns on the ground.

Mahagonay Simmons finished with a season-high 81 yards receiving on four catches and hauled in two touchdown passes. Melanie Assmar also had a couple of touchdown catches.

With BU receiving the ball first, Simmons finished off a 36-yard pass from Sanija Waller to put the Wildcats on the board less than two minutes into the game. Llorente scored quickly a little bit later into the opening quarter, taking a 52-yard run all the way to the house to give Baker a 14-0 lead.

Simmons snagged her second touchdown grab of the quarter on a 29-yard pass from Kaley Phillips this time to close out the first 12 minutes of play. Assmar caught her first score on a pass from freshman quarterback Alejandra Ramos,

Llorente found Kaley Phillips for a short score to cap a 35-7 halftime lead for BU.

After scoring on a long over-the-top throw in the first quarter, Southwestern notched its second touchdown on a short punch in from the BU three-yard line to cut its deficit to 21 points.

The Wildcats came right back and scored within three plays with Waller reeling off a couple of long runs, including a 16-yard touchdown scramble.

Llorente accounted for the final two touchdowns for BU, running one in from 25 yards out on a fourth-down play before hitting Assmar for the last score of the game to finish off the 53-20 victory.

Moving to 6-1 overall and 4-1 at home, Baker will close out its 2026 home slate with a tough matchup against KCAC rival Kansas Wesleyan on Tuesday, March 17, starting at 6 p.m. in Liston Stadium

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