SPORTS
March 2, 2018
‘Cats advance to Heart quarterfinals
Junior Caitlin Modesett attacks the basket to contribute to her 22-point performance. Modesett was one point away from matching her season best
of 23 points against University of Saint Mary in the season opener on Nov. 3. | Photo by Jenna Black
NATHALIA BARR
Managing Editor
T
he women’s basketball team
advanced to the 2018 Heart of
America Athletic Conference
Tournament Quarterfinals after
Five wrestlers gear up for nationals
NATHALIA BARR
Managing Editor
Five Baker wrestlers qualified for
the 2018 NAIA Wrestling National
Championship as the Wildcats
hosted the Heart of America Athletic
Conference Championship on Feb. 17.
Baker’s biggest win came in the
174-pound bracket championship
match as sophomore Lucas Lovvorn
defeated Grand View’s No. 1 ranked
Lawton Benna in a 5-4 decision.
Lovvorn earned the Heart Wrestler of
the Week honor after his tournament
performance and will enter the
national tournament ranked No. 2.
Other Wildcats who qualified for
nationals include freshmen Dylan
Pelland and Colby Johnson and
sophomores David Dow and Jacob
Smith.
Pelland finished in fourth in the
defeating Mount Mercy in the first
round of action. Baker topped Mount
Mercy 60-57 on Tuesday in the
Collins Center.
The win allows Baker to move on
to the quarterfinals where the ‘Cats
will take on MidAmerica Nazarene
125-pound bracket. Dow finished in
third place in the 197-pound bracket
over Dickinson State’s Cody Johnson
in a 13-12 decision to qualify for the
national tournament.
Johnson and Smith each ended
the day with second-place finishes
in the 149- and 184-pound brackets,
respectively. Johnson fell in the
championship match to Grand View’s
Devin Reynolds in an 11-2 major
decision. Smith took on No. 2 ranked
Artie Bess of Grand View in his final
match of the day that ended in a fall
after 1:29.
Smith and Dow both qualified for
the national tournament last season,
and Dow earned All-American honors
with an eighth-place finish.
The 2018 NAIA Wrestling National
Championship will take place Friday
and Saturday at the Richard O.
Jacobson Exhibition Center in Des
Moines, Iowa.
page 12
University on Thursday. The results
of this game were not available at the
time of publication.
After the completion of the regular
season, junior Caitlin Modesett was
named to the 2018 Heart First Team
All-Conference. Senior Sydnie Hanson
Freshman Colby Johnson hand fights with his opponent in the championship match at the
149-pound weight class. Johnson took second place and qualified for the 2018 NAIA National
Tournament. | Photo by Alex Fortuna
and junior Anna Hignight were both
named to the Second Team All-
Conference.
The Wildcats were seeded No.
4 in the Heart South to enter the
tournament, and Mount Mercy was
the No. 5 seed in the Heart North.
After the first-round results, the
teams were reseeded, and Baker
became the six seed.
Against Mount Mercy, Baker
came out slow in the first half and
went into halftime losing 32-20.
The Wildcats offensive production
turned around in the second half and
created a suspenseful ending. With
26 seconds remaining in the game,
Baker and Mount Mercy were tied at
57. Then, with just 6 seconds left on
the game clock, Hignight hit a three to
seal the win for the ‘Cats.
Hignight finished the game 5-8
from three-point range to contribute
a team-high 18 points. Modesett
added 17 points and eight rebounds.
Hanson had 11 points for the
Wildcats, nine of which came from
the free-throw line. As a team, Baker
shot 88.9 percent on free throws as
sophomore Jodi Adkins went 6-6.
The second-half rally propelled
Baker over Mount Mercy and into the
second round of the tournament.
Last season, Baker won the Heart
tournament title for the first time
in Baker history. A tournament win
this season would give the team
a bid to the 2018 NAIA National
Championship Tournament.