Wildcats Battle Pride to the End, Fall in First Outing of 2026

BALDWIN CITY - Competing for the first time in 2026, Baker women's basketball put up a tough fourth-quarter fight against Clarke, but fell to the Pride, 80-75, on Saturday afternoon in the Collins Center.

After trailing by double digits in the third, the Wildcats scored a game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter and tied things up with just over four minutes left before the Pride prevailed late to spoil the comeback.

Both teams shot around 35 percent from the floor and struggled from three-point range, but the real battle came from the free-throw line. Clarke went 29-of-34, which was enough of an edge to push past the Wildcats despite a season-high effort from BU (25-of-31).

Gabby Rose went a perfect 14-for-14 from the line and tallied 23 points to lead the Wildcats in scoring. Skye Pepp (16) and Taniya Tease (12) each turned in double-digit outings as well, with Pepp scoring nine of hers in the fourth quarter.

A layup by Amaya Barnes followed by back-to-back buckets from Rihanna Blanchard triggered a quick timeout from the Pride after the 6-0 start from BU. Rose and Corrine Cole sank the Wildcats' only 3-pointers of the game to keep BU in front and a layup by Pepp settled the first quarter score in favor of the hosts at 20-14.

Clarke opened up the second period with a 6-0 run of its own, tying the game at 20-20 before Pepp and Kennedy Bryan knocked down consecutive shots to push Baker back ahead. After Cole converted a three-point play to make it a five-point lead for BU, the Pride closed on a 13-5 stretch to swing the momentum before half and take a 37-34 lead into the intermission.

In the third quarter, the Wildcats were able to hang around early until a pair of devastating 3-pointers from Clarke pushed BU's deficit to double-digits at 49-38. A string of layups from Rose mixed in with a nice bucket from Tease made for a solid close to the frame for BU as the Pride took a 57-51 lead into the final quarter.

Tease took advantage of a CU turnover on the opening possession of the fourth quarter to cut it to a four-point game and a stick-back by Barnes made it a one-possession game just a few minutes into the period.

A steal and layup by Pepp tied the game at 65-65 with 4:23 left, erasing BU's double-digit deficit, but the Wildcats were unable to capitalize down the stretch despite having a couple of chances to tie or take the lead late.

An and-1 from Pepp made it 76-73 with just over a minute to play and a pair of Rose free throws put BU within a point, but the Wildcats came up empty on back-to-back possessions as Clarke held on to win, 80-75.

Up next, Baker will return to the Collins Center on Saturday, Jan. 10 to host Culver-Stockton for an afternoon matchup, starting at Noon in Baldwin City.

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