Baker Women Earns Number 2 Seed, Takes on Number 7 Mobile (Ala.) in First Round

BALDWIN CITY, Kansas – Fresh off their first ever Heart Title Championship win this past Saturday. The Baker University women's basketball team earned a number 2 seed and will take on number 7 University of Mobile (Ala.) in the First Round of the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship, announced on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats will take on the Rams on Wednesday, March 15 at 4 p.m. MST/5 p.m. CST. inside the Rim Rock Auto Arena at MetraPark in Billings, Montana.

This marks the fourth-straight season Baker has qualified for the NAIA National Championship Tournament.

Baker is 5-3 all-time at the event and this marks the fourth all-time appearance at the NAIA National Championship.

The Rams are 22-10 on the year and earned a bid to the tournament after winning the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Championship over number 18 ranked Bethel (Tenn.), 68-58, on March 4. They won the tournament as the number 4 seed.

Mobile comes into Billings with the Southern States Player of the Year, Starla Daggan. The senior is fifth in the nation in points per game at 19.5 and averages 4.3 rebounds per game.

Teammate Kalie Koenig is second on the team averaging 16.6 points per game and has knocked down 73 three-point field goals on the year.

The Rams also rank number 13 in the country in steals with 332. Sydney Westry is Mobile's team leader in steals with 84, which ranks number 9 in the NAIA.

The 29-4 Wildcats bring a balanced attack led by Heart of America Athletic Conference Player of the Year, Kelsey Larson.

Baker has won 17-straight games en route to an out-right Heart regular season title, and for the first time in program history a Heart Tournament title, in which they won on March 6 against rival Benedictine, 64-51, in front of a worldwide audience on ESPN 3 and locally on KSMO-TV.

BU features four Heart All-Conference performers including First-Team honoree Larson, second team winners MacKenzie Cook and Jessica Zweifel and honorable mention winner Sydney Buchel.

The 'Cats rank number 1 in the land in total blocks with 164 and number 2 in the country in three-point field goals made with 285.

Mobile has appeared in the tournament eight times and has a 2-7 all-time record at the event. Their last appearance came in 2014.

Five teams from the Heart of America Athletic Conference earned a spot to the National Tournament, including Baker, Benedictine, Central Methodist, MNU and William Penn.

All games will be streamed live and fans can watch the game live via the NAIA Network for $9.95 for a day pass or $29.95 for an All-Tournament pass.

Governor Sam Brownback signs executive order to assist fire relief

Clark County – On Thursday, March 9, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed Executive Order 17-01 to assist fire relief efforts throughout the state. Governor Brownback declared a state of emergency on March 5, and fires have now burned more than 626,000 acres. This ranks as the largest fire event in state history.
“Together as a state, we stand with those who lost their homes, their livestock, and their barns,” said Governor Brownback. “As fires continue to sweep across our state, Kansans are standing shoulder to shoulder with their neighbors to deliver relief and support. Even as we continue the fight to contain and defeat these fires, this executive order assists and expedites the arrival of recovery supplies as our communities begin to rebuild in the wake of these wildfires.”
Executive order 17-01 facilitates the immediate delivery of large quantities of hay, feed, fencing materials, and other relief supplies by waiving certain motor carrier regulations.
Governor Brownback signed the executive order in the Clark County Command Center. 85 percent of the county’s land mass has been burned. While there, he visited the local Command Center, conducted a land assessment tour, and attended the Ashland High School pep rally. Yesterday, Governor Brownback visited the Hutchinson Command Center, conducted both an aerial and land assessment tour, and visited with the Red Cross providing shelter to displaced families.

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The full text of the executive order can be found below: