Pride overcome slow start to start 2026 with road win over Baker
BALDWIN CITY, Kan. - Getting back to Heart of America Athletic Conference action to start the new year, the Clarke University women's basketball team earned their second-straight win and their second-straight conference road victory in an 80-75 final score at Baker University on Saturday afternoon.
It wasn't a clean opening frame for the Pride in Baldwin City, Kan. as they trailed 20-14 after 10 minutes following the Wildcats starting the first 5:16 of the game on an 11-2 run where CU started 0-for-6 from the field, and went 1-for-11 (9.1%) during that 11-2 run while also turning the ball over twice in the early going.
Fortunately for Clarke, the offensive woes wouldn't carry over into the second quarter, nearly mirroring the first by outscore BU 23-14 to take a three-point lead headed into the halftime break at 37-34 after shooting 38.9 percent (7-18) from the field and 9-for-10 (90%) from the free throw line and taking much better care of the ball with no turnovers to the four committed by Baker.
Leading by six heading into the final period after reaching their largest lead of 12 points at 53-41 in the third, the Pride never trailed in the fourth, but allowed Baker to tie the game at 65-65 with 4:23 remaining in the game before a pair of Hailey Walters free throws followed by back-to-back buckets from Zoe Kennedy bumped CU back up by four points after each Kennedy make.
Still with that four-point lead, Kennedy would hit another bucket to make it 74-68 with just about two minutes to go, but playing on four fouls through most of the final frame, she would be whistled for a foul near 90 seconds left in the game to foul out with CU still clinging to that six-point advantage.
Clarke's free throw shooting, especially from Walters, would play a large role in the final moments of the game as the senior along with Josie Potts would combine to go 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, staving off a Wildcats comeback that pulled BU within a point at 76-75 with 44 seconds to go in the game while also gaining possession of the ball.
A key shot contest and rebound from Reese Ryan got CU a big stop with about 30 seconds left before Walters would go on to hit her final four free throws of the game to go a perfect 12-for-12 from the line in the game for 12 of her 17 points on the day with the Pride shooting 29-for-34 (85.3%) from the free throw line as a team on the day.
Ryan produced her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds along with adding a pair of blocked shots and Kennedy put up a game-high 29 points on 11-of-17 (64.7%) shooting from the field and a 6-for-6 game from the free throw line herself before fouling out in the late stages.
For Baker, they also took over 30 free throws and shot over 80 percent from the charity stripe, going 25-for-31 (80.6%) while both teams also made the exact same amount of shots from the field (24) with the Pride hitting one more of their three point attempts in the game.
Clarke women's basketball will play a Heart opponent in a rematch for the first time this season when they host Graceland University in the Kehl Center on Wednesday, Jan. 7 for a 5:30 p.m. CT scheduled tip in the second meeting between the Pride and Yellowjackets of the 2025-26 season.