ST. LOUIS – [Box Score] A tough night of shooting proved to seal the fate for the Missouri Baptist women's basketball team, as the Spartans fell to Williams Baptist, 61-46. MBU dropped to 8-17 on the season and 6-11 in American Midwest Conference play.
The Spartans shot just 27 percent on the night, making only 16-of-58 shots from the floor. Missouri Baptist made 11-of-16 free throws, pulled down 32 rebounds, with 13 in the offensive zone.
Williams Baptist (13-11, 9-9 AMC) made 21-of-54 (39%) of shots from the field, including 4-of-14 from three-point territory. The Eagles made 15-of-20 free throws, won the rebounding battle with 44, and had nine blocks.
Kristyne Smyth led the Spartans with 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the floor, and 3-of-9 from deep range. She made both free throw shots and had five rebounds.
Jasmine Jackson continued her hot shooting, making 6-of-14 shots from the floor en route to 12 points. She co-led the Spartans with six rebounds.
Morgan Settle was the other player to score in double-digits. She scored 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the floor, and made 2-of-4 free throw shots. She co-led the Spartans with six rebounds.
The first half started off solid for Missouri Baptist, as they held a 19-16 lead with 10:37 left in the half.
The Eagles clawed out a 9-0 run over the next 3:11 to take a commanding 25-19 lead with 7:26 remaining in the half.
Taylor Klingelhoefer hit both free throws after being fouled on a rebound, which cut the deficit to 25-21. Settle took the next Spartan possession to the paint, hitting a layup to cut the deficit to just 25-23.
The two teams went scoreless for the next two minutes until the Eagles hit a shot inside the paint to extend their lead to 27-23.
The Spartans scored just one point over the final 6:15, which allowed Williams Baptist to hold a 31-24 lead at the halftime break.
Smyth led the Spartans with eight points in the half, while Settle scored seven points. The Spartans shot 37 percent from the floor on 9-of-24 from the field.
Williams Baptist wasted no time extending its lead to 15 points, as the Eagles held a 43-28 lead just 4:40 into the second half.
The Eagles had their largest lead of the game (17 points), as they held a 47-30 lead with 14:28 left in the game.
Missouri Baptist stormed back, thanks to a 9-0 run, which cut the deficit to eight points with 9:55 left in the game. Four different Spartans scored during the run, including a three-pointer by Smyth, two free throws by Kennedy Smith, a jumper by Jasmine Jackson, and a layup by Settle.
Missouri Baptist was once again within striking distance with 2:11 left in the game, after Kennedy Smith made two free throws to cut the deficit to 55-46.
That would be the closest the Spartans would get, as the Eagles ended the game on a 6-0 run, with the final score being 61-46.
Missouri Baptist travels to Lyon College on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 5:30 pm. The Spartans lost to Lyon in the first meeting of the season, 75-52.
