Baker senior Kelsey Larson (left) junior Sydnie Hanson (right) celebrate after the Wildcats' 64-51 win over Benedictine in the Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament championship game on Monday at Collins Center. Larson led the Wildcats with 17 points.

Baldwin City ? After being sidelined for much of the first half due to foul trouble, Baker senior Kelsey Larson made up for lost time time in the second to lead the Wildcats to a 64-51 win over Benedictine in the Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament championship game on Monday in Collins Center.

Larson — the Heart Player of the Year — was saddled with two fouls in the first eight minutes, and did not attempt a shot in the first half. The 5-foot-10 senior was in attack-mode after the break, though, as Larson went on the lead the No. 8-ranked Wildcats with 17 points.

“She’s the MVP for a reason. She’s the best player in the league this year,” said Baker coach Ben Lister of Larson. “She’s the best in the most critical moments. She showed why, and she took over there in the fourth quarter — hustle plays, hit shots, she defends like crazy. She’s a stud.”

With the Wildcats (29-4) trailing 39-34 at the 1:52 mark of the third quarter, Larson scored the last four points of the period to pull Baker within one going into the fourth. The four points from Larson ended up being the beginning of a 16-0 run that carried over into the final quarter, and the Wildcats never looked back.

Sophomore guard Anna Hignight hit a 3-pointer from the corner on the first possession of the fourth quarter to give the Wildcats their first lead of the second half. Senior Sydney Buchel and Jessica Zweifel followed Hignight’s trey with back-to-back buckets to force a Benedictine timeout. The No. 13-ranked Ravens (25-8) still couldn’t stop the bleeding, though, as Buchel scored right out of the timeout and Sydnie Hanson drained a 3-pointer to cap off the 16 unanswered points for the Wildcats.

“It’s so hard to stop just one of us because everyone on my team is a threat from anywhere on the floor,” Larson said. “We have so many good 3-point shooters.”

While the Wildcats have made the fourth most 3-pointers in the nation, they have prided themselves on the defensive end all season long en route to their regular season and conference tournament championships. The Wildcats came up with six blocks and six steals to fluster the Ravens.

“Benedictine prides themselves on the same thing. We’re No. 1 and No. 2 in the league on defense,” Lister said. “It’s just two good defensive teams going after each other. We just found a way to make stops and got on a little bit of a run there offensively.”

Along with cutting down the nets in Collins Center for the second time in the last two weeks, the Wildcats also set a program record with their 29th win of the season. Baker is riding a 16-game winning streak going into the NAIA Div. 1 tournament, which will take place March 15-21 in Billings, Mont.

“It’s honestly a little scary because I can’t see us losing. We have all of this confidence,” Larson said. “We have all of this momentum behind us and I just don’t know how we’re going to lose. I don’t know what it’s going to take for some team to come in and beat us.”

The Wildcats know full well that Monday night might not be the last they see of the conference-rival Ravens. Baker defeated Benedictine last year in the Fab Four before falling to another Heart foe in MidAmerica Nazarene in the national championship game.

Going into the national tournament the Wildcats have seven players averaging at least eight points per game. Lister likes the balance of his squad as the Wildcats will try to cut down the nets again in Montana.

“I’m just proud of these girls; love them,” Lister said. “(I’m) looking forward to next week and seeing how we do.”

Baker (64)

Jessica Zweifel 2-8 0-0 5, Courtney Hoag 1-5 0-0 2, Sydnie Hanson 3-10 2-2 9, Sydney Buchel 6-10 2-4 16, Anna Hignight 2-7 0-0 6, Kelsey Larson 4-9 6-6 17, Jodi Adkins 1-2 1-2 3, Taylor Smith 1-2 0-0 2, Mackenzie Cook 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 22-56 11-14 64.

Benedictine (51)

Ali Taff 3-12 0-0 8, Maddie Minnaert 0-3 0-0 0, Saige Baalman 0-1 1-2 1, Haylee Beard 3-7 1-2 7, Kayla Staley 1-3 0-0 2, Rachel Baumgartner 2-2 0-0 5, Kristen Murphy 3-11 4-4 10, Lexie Villegas 1-3 3-4 5, Serena Porter 2-7 9-10 13. Totals: 15-49 18-22 51.

Baker 13 15 9 25 — 64

Benedictine 9 21 9 13 — 51

Three-point goals: Baker 9-24 (Larson 3, Hignight 2, Buchel 2, Hanson, Zweifel); Benedictine 3-17 (Taff 2, Baumgartner). Fouled out: Mackenzie Cook, Baker; Kristen Murphy, Benedictine. Turnovers: Baker 11, Benedictine 15.