Fulton, Mo. - In the first round of the American Midwest Conference Tournament, the Spartans faced William Woods on the road. The Owls took over in the second half beating Missouri Baptist 63-41, ending the teams' season.
The Spartans shooting was cold throughout the first half, going 9-31 from the field, but only trailed 29-23 at the half. After a Lauren Taylor two point basket, Missouri Baptist was down 23-12 with 11 minutes left. William Woods went six minutes without making a basket and the Spartans clawed their way back into the game. MBU went on an 11-6 run to close the half, narrowing the Owls lead to six.
The team felt like they had a chance to pull the upset in the second half. The Spartans however, went four minutes without a basket to start the final 20 minutes. Mandy Kirby made a pair of free throws, cutting the lead down to 40-31 at the 12 minute mark.
William Woods went 13-23 in the second half, holding the Spartans to 18 second half points and went on to win by 22. Missouri Baptist shot 24% for the game.
Senior Andrea Seabaugh led the team with 11 points on 4-10 shooting. Lauren Taylor and Mandy Kirby each added nine points. Katie Scherder led the Owls with 12 points on 5-10 shooting.
The Spartans season ends with a final record of 9-21. Even though Missouri Baptist loses four seniors, the team will be looking forward to a clean slate next year, returning key starters and bench players.
