The Central Methodist University women's basketball team played evenly with Baker University, but the Lady Eagles came up short as Baker made free throws down the stretch to earn a 53-43 win over CMU Thursday night.
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Central Methodist jumped out to a 13-6 lead after a three-pointer by junior Sami Dunger (Wildwood, Mo.) with 14:31 left in the first half. Baker rallied to tie the game at 23-23 with 3:17 left in the half, then made a pair of free throws at the end of the half to take a 25-23 lead into halftime. In the second half, Baker extended its lead to 34-27 in the first six minutes. CMU got to within one point at 38-39 with 6:54 remaining on a layup by freshman Nakia Robinson (St. Louis, Mo.). The Lady Eagles were held without another basket until for more than four minutes, and Baker was able to regain a seven-point lead at 45-38. A pair of free throws by senior Jazmynn Hutchings (Des Moines, Iowa) made the score 42-47 with 1:38 left in the game, but Baker converted 6-of-6 free throws in the final minute to seal the 10-point win.
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CMU shot just 26.4 percent from the field in the game, including 8-of-24 from three-point range. Baker finished with 32 percent shooting from the field, including 5-of-14 from beyond the arc. Baker converted 16-of-20 free-throw attempts in the game, while CMU finished 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Baker also finished with a 40-36 rebounding advantage.
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Dunger led CMU with 14 points, including 3-of-3 from three-point range. Sophomore Raylyn Nuss (O'Fallon, Mo.)� finished with 13 points and a team-high five rebounds.
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The Lady Eagles dropped to 3-20 overall and 1-12 from the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Baker improved to 13-10 overall and 8-5 in the HAAC. CMU will return to action Saturday in another HAAC contest against Graceland University. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Puckett Field House.