Pride drop first game of 2021-22 to No. 8 Wayland Baptist

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Facing their second top-25 ranked team in as many days, the Clarke University women's basketball team droped a tough 84-76 game to Wayland Baptist at the Kehl Center Saturday afternoon.

CU started off at the advantage with as much as a 13-point lead in the first quarter but the Flying Queens came storming back to cut it to a 27-21 Pride lead at the end of the opening quarter before eventually taking a 43-41 lead into halftime.

The two teams traded blows in the third quarter that saw Clarke lead by as many as five at one point late in the quarter but it was WBU once again cutting into the lead to eventually lead by two against heading into the fourth.

The fourth quarter was one that the Pride just couldn't string together a good offensive possession followed by a stop as the closest they would come was within two points at 74-72 with 4:13 left in the game but Wayland Baptist finished the game on a 10-2 run aided by strong free throw shooting.

Turnovers told a good portion of the story for Clarke on the offensive side of the ball as the turnovers were 22-11 in favor of the Queens as they took advantage for 23 points off of those 22 CU turnovers.

Individually, a pair of 20-point scorers led the way for Wayland Baptist as the sister tandem of Kaitlyn and Kaylee Edgemon had 20 and 22 points respectively. Jenna Cooper finished the game as the only other Flying Queen player in double figures with 12 points while adding six rebounds and six assists.

For the Pride, they had five players in double figures led by 17 from Giana Michels as she struggled early from the field, finishing 6-for-16 and 5-of-10 from behind the three-point line. Her outside shooting kept CU in the game in the fourth quarter but they couldn't break through behind that.

The supporting scoring for Clarke saw Tina Ubl finish with 15 points, Nicole McDermott and Emma Kelchen each add 12, Mya Merschman scored 10 off the bench, Taylor Haase scored seven points in her first start, and Izzie Peterson added three.

Clarke women's basketball will now prepare for a pair of games out in the Bay Area of California next week as they will face Menlo College next Wednesday for a 9:00 p.m. CT/7:00 p.m. PT scheduled tip.