ST. LOUIS - After holding a one point lead at halftime over Evangel University, the Missouri Baptist women's basketball team ended the game on the wrong side of the scoreboard, falling 79-66. The contest kicked off the season for both squads.
The Spartans shot 41 percent from the field on 23-of-55 and made 71 percent of shots from the charity stripe on 15-of-21. The Spartans also pulled down 45 rebounds and all three statistics were better than the Crusaders.
Senior guard Leslie Damper and sophomore forward Jasmine Jackson led MBU with 13 points. Damper made 4-of-8 shots from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from deep range. Jackson made 4-of-9 shots from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Kristyne Smyth, Taylor Klingelhoefer and Morgan Settle each pitched in with nine points. Jackson and Settle each pulled down nine rebounds.
The season got off to a rough start, as the Spartans turned the ball over on its first four possessions. Three minutes into the game, Evangel had an 8-2 lead, but MBU quickly took over from there.
Damper drained a big three pointer with 16:42 left in the first half, which set off a 15-0 run by the Spartans. MBU held Evangel scoreless for nearly four minutes before Amanda Landolt hit a three pointer to cut the Spartans lead to 17-11 with 13:18 left in the half.
MBU then went on a 14-5 run over the next 3:30 to take a 31-16, sparked by two big three pointers by Damper.
Evangel went on a run of its own; a 13-0 run that cut the Spartan lead to just two points with 5:17 left in the half.
The two teams traded baskets the remainder of the half and MBU took a 42-41 lead headed into halftime. The Spartans went 10-for-11 from the free throw line in the half and had a 20-18 advantage in rebounds. Damper led the Missouri Baptist with 12 points in the half, while Settle pulled down five rebounds.
In the second half, Emily Akins drained a three point basket for Evangel to take a 46-44 lead with 18:38 left in regulation. Kristyne Smith made a field goal on the next possession to tie the game up at 46-46, the first time the two teams were tied.
Missouri Baptist and Evangel again traded baskets until Evangel called a momentum-changing timeout with 12:37 left in the contest. The Crusaders rattled off ten-straight points to take a 65-54 lead with 11:16 left in the game.
MBU cut the Evangel lead to 65-63 with 9:15 left in the game on a three pointer from Kristyne Smyth, but the Spartans could only put three more points on the scoreboard in the final nine minutes. Evangel would score 14 more points in the final nine minutes, which gave the Crusaders a 79-66 victory.
The Spartans will host the University of Great Falls on Saturday at 2:00 pm for the first home game of the 2013-14 season. The game is a Spartan Blue Out and Homecoming.
