Tolson Drops 32 Points in Wildcats’ 75-68 Overtime Win at Mount Mercy

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Led by a season-high 32 points from senior guard Ainsley Tolson, the Baker women's basketball team came out on top of a 75-68 overtime thriller against Mount Mercy on Saturday afternoon.

Tolson's offensive outburst was backed by a near flawless game at the free throw line where she went 17-for-18. She also finished with a team-high seven assists and added five rebounds.

She wasn't the only Wildcat with impressive numbers in the game as Sophia Barrett went a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range to pave the way to her 16 points and Emma Cunningham posted her second double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Emina Hadzihusejnovic collected a season-high 14 rebounds.

Tolson was the spark plug for the Wildcats offense in the first quarter as she scored five points and dished out four assists to give Baker an early advantage. After scoring on back-to-back possessions, Tolson drew a crowd on a drive towards the lane and was able to dump off to Hadzihusejnovic for an easy bucket that put BU up 11-6.

The Mustangs climbed their way out of the early hole and would retake the lead on a Sadie Struchen three. Cunningham brought the quarter to a 15-15 deadlock as she was on the receiving end of another great feed from Tolson.

In the second quarter, it was Barrett who took charge for BU as she recorded the first four points in the quarter and went on to score eight straight for Baker. She swished back-to-back triples before teammate Chassidy Weathers caught the three bug as well and knocked down her shot from behind-the-arc to put the Wildcats ahead, 26-20.

However, Mount Mercy continued to prevent the Wildcats from gaining too much steam and kept it a one-possession game going into halftime with Baker leading 29-26.

After the Mustangs reclaimed the lead to start the second half, Cunningham came through with a key offensive rebound and knocked down a baseline jumper to put Baker back ahead, 33-32. She followed with two more buckets later in the quarter while Tolson added a three and a layup to give the Wildcats the largest lead of the contest at 43-36.

Carrying a five-point lead into the fourth period, Baker had its advantage wiped out by the Mustangs as the hosts came back to go ahead 51-50 with six minutes remaining. The Wildcats responded with a big second-chance play from Hadzihusejnovic who tracked down an offensive rebound and found Barrett for an open three that the sophomore guard drilled to put BU back on top.

The Mustangs tied the game at 57-57, heading into the final minute of the fourth quarter. After Van Weelden made a couple clutch free throws, Mount Mercy drew things even again and surrounded Tolson on her last-second attempt to force overtime.

In the extra period, it was Tolson taking over yet again as she scored 13 points in overtime, including a perfect 11-for-11 at the charity stripe. She scored seven consecutive points for the Wildcats to give them a 66-61 lead. Hadzihusejnovic followed with a timely basket right as the shot clock expired to keep BU ahead by six points.

From there, Tolson and the Wildcats sealed the game from the free throw line and earned a 75-68 win in their first overtime game of the season.

Baker improves to 6-7 on the season and moves to 2-6 in conference play. The Wildcats return to the Collins Center for their first home game of 2023 as they take on Missouri Valley on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 5:30 p.m.

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