Baker directs team past Bowling Green in first game of the MAC tournament

Brandie Baker helped lead women’s basketball to an easy 81-48 quarterfinal win Thursday against Bowling Green and proved she could lead the team at point guard.

With the win, her team advances to the MAC tournament semifinals against Toledo, thanks to big games from a couple different players including Baker. The senior guard had one of her best games at the point with 14 points, eight assists and three rebounds.

“I think I came out more aggressively on offense today,” Baker said. “And our defense as a team was a lot better.”

The first half was crucial, as her team was able to run away with the game and take away any chance Bowling Green had to come back. Baker was big in the first half, scoring 12 of her 14 points and also recording five assists, two rebounds and two steals.

“My teammates were really good at finding me for open shots,” Baker said. “We played an aggressive two-three zone on defense; we had our hands up a lot.”

Baker played a key role in the zone defense, helping force turnovers and coming up with three steals. As a team, the Chippewas forced 34 turnovers, leading to 39 points.

By the time the second half began, CMU had already built a comfortable 16-point lead. After extending their lead, Guevara was able to rest Baker and the rest of the starters at the end of the second half.

In the only regular-season meeting between the two teams, Bowling Green came out with the win, 84-59. Baker had 14 points in that game as well but did not record a single assist and did not experience the overall success like she did in this game.

This time around, Baker looked a lot more comfortable, and her numbers prove it. With eight assists, she helped the team play smoother, helping to take pressure off players like sophomore guard Crystal Bradford, who had a team-high 23 points.

Baker also was able to control the ball, only committing one of the team’s seven turnovers for the game.

After losing starting point guard sophomore Jessica Green for the rest of the season, Baker moved to her position. At first, it seemed to be a bit of a rough transition, but she started to look more comfortable toward the end of the season and now looks to help lead her team deep into the tournament.

Baker and her team will now look to continue the conference tournament run as they take on MAC regular-season champion Toledo. Tip-off is set for noon today.