ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist trailed by as many as 13 on Saturday against cross-town, American Midwest Conference rival Harris Stowe, but came back to defeat the Hornets in a dramatic 71-68 win at home.
Missouri Baptist (2-8, 2-4 AMC) needed some last minute heroics to pick-up its second win on the season and got just that thanks to a big second-half. In the final 20 minutes, the Spartans shot 53 percent from the floor and held the Hornets to just 35 percent.
MBU began the game with a three-pointer from Taylor Klingelhoefer to take the game's first lead, but fell behind soon after as Harris Stowe put together a 13-4 run to take an early 13-7 lead.
The Spartans erased the six-point hole over the course of the next four minutes. Down by two with just over 11 minutes remaining in the half, Kennedy Smith hit a pull-up jumper to tie the game at 17.
Smith put together her best game of the season thus far. After a standout freshman campaign one season ago, the sophomore guard had struggled to get back to form this year, but broke out of her slump on Saturday. The Columbia, Mo., native recorded her first double-double on the year with 10 rebounds and 14 points to her credit.
Harris Stowe applied pressure to the Spartans as the half wound down. The Hornets finished with a 13-4 run in the final five minutes and forced 17 MBU turnovers in the opening 20 minutes to take a 32-24 lead into the half.
After the break, the Spartans began to eat into the Hornet lead, but after jumper by Klingelhoefer to pull it within three at 36-33, Harris Stowe regained its composure.
HSSU, however, needed just under four minutes to build its three point lead into a 13-point advantage with 12:53 left in the game. With just under seven minutes left, Harris Stowe continued to maintain its 12-point lead, but the Spartans finished the game with a solid offensive effort.
Missouri Baptist inched its way back into the contest in the final 6:28 as Klingelhoefer became red hot from the floor. The O'Fallon, Ill., native posted seven of the team's final 25 points and finished Saturday's contest with 22 points and four assists.
As MBU cut the Harris Stowe lead to three with just over a minute left, it was Klingelhoefer who was sent to the line with a chance to cut the deficit to one. The No. 2-ranked free-throw shooter in the NAIA did just that and knocked-down both of her shots to make it a one-point game.
Missouri Baptist held the Hornets on the other end of the court, and were left with the ball and one final opportunity to take the lead. Morgan Settle put-up a shot on the baseline that didn't fall, but it was Kennedy Smith who followed it up to hit what ended-up as the game winner.
The Spartans lost the turnover battle for the game, but committed just 10 in the second half as the team stepped-up on both offense and defense. MBU out-rebounded the Hornets 46-38 in the game and recorded 11 steals.
Outside of Klingelhoefer and Smith, Mattie White was the lone Spartan to finish in double digits. The sophomore from Purdy, Mo., had a career day from the floor, and finished with 11 points in just over 22 minutes played.
Missouri Baptist will have just a couple of days to rest before its next game on Tuesday when the team welcomes the St. Louis College of Pharmacy Eutectics to the Carl and Deloris Petty Sports and Recreation Complex. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
