Clutch Free Throws Seal Wildcats’ Road Win Over Grand View, 72-65

DES MOINES, Iowa – Baker women's basketball sank 25 free throws – including an impressive 8-for-8 stretch to ice the game – and captured a big Heart of America Athletic Conference win over (RV) Grand View, 72-65 on Saturday.

The Wildcats were lights out from the line, going 25-for-29 with Leah Van Weelden (11), Sophia Barrett (8) and Ainsley Tolson (5) registering all but one of Baker's 25 free throws in the contest. Barrett recorded her second 20-point outing of the year, leading the Wildcats with 20 points and eight rebounds. Tolson and Van Weelden rounded out a three-headed attack for BU with 18 points apiece.

Baker got a couple of early baskets from its frontcourt with Emma Cunningham and Emina Hadzihusejnovic knocking down the first shots before a three from Chassidy Weathers gave BU a 7-3 advantage to open the game. After the Vikings went ahead midway through the first period and eventually pushed their lead out to six, Hadzihusejnovic swished her fifth triple of the season to pull Baker within one at the end of the opening quarter.

In the second quarter, Barrett rattled off five straight points to put the Wildcats back on top at 25-23 and later, a Van Weelden three extended the lead out to five with less than four minutes left in the half. Barrett set up a Tolson buzzer-beater to close the half by finding her teammate for a quick layup with two seconds left that gave BU a 38-32 lead at the intermission.

After a brief dry spell from both sides to start the second half, Tolson connected on a deep shot to give Baker a double-digit lead at 42-32 and Van Weelden's layup with 4:19 remaining regained BU's 10-point advantage. Grand View worked its way back for the rest of the quarter to trim the Wildcats lead in half with the score 47-42 going into the fourth quarter.

Midway through the final frame, Baker saw its lead increase to seven, setting the stages for a frantic finish that began with a big three-point play from Barrett with just over three minutes left in the game. Barrett's old-fashioned three points ignited a scoring barrage as both teams combined for 30 points to close out the game. With 1:40 left, Van Weelden tallied the first two of Baker's eight straight free throws to give BU a four-point lead at 64-60.

Following a GVU free throw that put the home side within three, Tolson and Van Weelden were able to break the Vikings press with Van Weelden collecting Tolson's pass for an uncontested layup. From there, Van Weelden and Barrett did their part from the charity stripe to close out the game for Baker, 72-65 and give Grand View just its third home conference loss of the season.

Baker improves to 11-11 overall and 7-10 against conference opponents this season. The Wildcats begin a 10-day stretch to close the regular season by playing host to MidAmerica Nazarene on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 5:30 p.m. inside the Collins Center.

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