ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] After a solid start in the opening 20 minutes of play, Missouri Baptist Women's Basketball turned it on in the second half. The Spartans outscored the Missouri Valley College Vikings 45-38 in the final 20 minutes to take its first win of the season, 80-73.
Missouri Baptist (1-1) found success from behind the arc and under the hoop on Tuesday night in non-conference action in Marshall, Mo. Trina Valencia got MBU going in the first half. The junior from Hawaii scored all of her nine points in the opening 20, while she went 2-4 from three-point range.
The Spartans took a slim, 35-34 lead into the half, which was built by a strong offensive showing early. Taylor Klingelhoefer knocked-down one of Missouri Baptist's five, three-pointers of the game on her first shot to give her team a 3-0 lead.
The Vikings responded just minutes later and utilized the three-ball to go on a 10-2 run. Julia Vasquez and Andressa Agusto knocked-down triples to help the home team to grab a 12-7 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the opening quarter. This would be, however, the only period of play that MVC outscored the Spartans.
MBU bounced back in the second quarter and outscored Missouri Valley 20-18. The Spartans started on a 5-0 run, but after the Vikings came back to tie it just moments later, Missouri Baptist went on the attack again. Trina Valencia hit the second of her two, three pointers, and Aaryana Cook tallied a bucket to extend the lead back out to five. This was the largest lead of the half, as the team from St. Louis entered halftime with a 35-34 lead.
After the break, the Spartans traded blows with the Vikings until the end of the quarter. Down 48-47 with 2:57 remaining in the third quarter, MBU kicked-it into high gear as the offense dropped 10 points on MVC to grab a 58-52 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. A lead the Spartans never surrendered.
MBU built as much as a 13-point lead in that final quarter on the way to its first win of the season.
Jerica Hawkins again came to play. The senior led the Spartans in scoring for the second consecutive game. The guard ended her night with 19 points and eight rebounds. Cherish Walton posted 14 points and went an impressive 7-11 from the floor.
Aaryana Cook recorded her first double-digit point night on Tuesday. The junior transfer finished with 13 points, four steals and a block. Taylor Klingelhoefer rounded-out the Spartans in double figures with 11 points. The senior also went 6-6 from the free throw line.
As a team, Missouri Baptist out-rebounded Missouri Valley on the offensive boards 15-9. The Vikings, however, shot 47 percent from the floor, six percent better than MBU's 41.
Missouri Baptist forced 19 MVC turnovers on the night, but the real story was second chance points. The Spartans outscored the Vikings 23-8 in this category, which became a key factor to the win.
The Spartans will now head back out onto the road on Friday the 13th for a big non-conference matchup against the Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders. Game time is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. in Columbia, Ky.
