Fourth Quarter Rally Falls Short for Wildcats in Oskaloosa

OSKALOOSA, Iowa - Baker women's basketball almost pulled off an incredible fourth quarter comeback, but ultimately fell in its road matchup at William Penn on Saturday, 72-65.

After trailing by as much as 23 in the frame, the Wildcats went on a huge run in the fourth quarter to cut it to a five-point game late before the Statesmen held on to survive the dramatic ending. WPU outscored BU 22-6 in the third quarter to swing a narrow three-point halftime lead into a comfortable 20-point advantage.

Both teams shot about the same from the field, with Baker going 27-of-62 while William Penn went 29-of-65. The Wildcats drained eight threes, including five in the final 10 minutes, to fuel their comeback, but were held to a season-low six trips to the free-throw line.

Skye Pepp notched a game-high 21 points and added four rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Taniya Tease and Gabby Rose each reached double-digits as well, with Rose scoring 15 points and Tease following with 11.

The Statesmen jumped out to a 12-2 lead to start things off in Oskaloosa before a 3-pointer from Rose got the Wildcats going. Tease converted a couple of layups, and Pepp scored twice in the final 20 seconds to pull Baker closer as WPU led 19-14 after the first 10 minutes of play.

A second-chance bucket from Nevaeh Leeks made it a one-possession game early in the second quarter. The Wildcats got another big lift off their bench after Corinne Cole splashed in a set of threes to bring BU within one at 25-24.

A layup by Tease gave Baker its first lead of the game, but the Statesmen tallied the last four points of the frame to take a 29-26 lead at the break.

In the third quarter, William Penn controlled the entire period, holding the Wildcats to just one field goal for nearly 10 minutes until Kennedy Bryan's buzzer-beating layup settled the score at 51-32.

With WPU leading 55-32, Rose kick-started Baker's big quarter with back-to-back triples before Pepp connected on one from deep a little bit later to make it 60-45. Tease and Bryan each joined the three-point party as well, with Bryan's three bringing BU within single digits.

The Widlcats trimmed their 23-point deficit down to a five-point margin on three separate occasions with a layup from Rose and a pair of buckets by Pepp. But Baker couldn't get over the five-point hump as William Penn weathered the late surge to earn its second straight win.

With the 2025 portion of the conference season wrapped up, Baker will play in back-to-back road non-conference games, starting first with a matchup at Northwest Missouri State on Monday, Dec. 15, at 6 p.m. in Maryville, Mo.

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