SPARTANS STUN OWLS IN EARLY SEASON AMC UPSET
ST LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist women's basketball gave its fans a reason to celebrate at the conclusion of Thursday's long awaited home opener. The Spartans shot an impressive 52 percent from the floor en route to an 84-61 upset win over a 5-1 William Woods (Mo.) team that received votes in the NAIA Preseason Poll.
Missouri Baptist (3-2, 2-0 AMC) continued its dynamic play in American Midwest Conference action and grabbed its first home win of the 2015-16 season.
The Spartans trailed by as many as four in the first quarter, but stormed back to grab the lead heading into the first break. MBU dropped an 8-0 run on the Owls to end the first, thanks in large part to
Morgan Settle, who was responsible for half the output. The senior from Moorsville, Ind., ended her evening with a season-high 17 points, two blocks and seven rebounds.
Both offenses stalled in the second half, though Missouri Baptist picked-up the pace on the defensive end while solid ball control kept the home team in the lead heading into halftime. The Spartans caused six Owl turnovers in the second quarter, 11 for the half, and entered half two with a slim 35-33 advantage.
As MBU put together what is likely its best second-half of the season,
Jerica Hawkins led the charge once again. The senior posted 22 points on the night and recorded a remarkable seven steals, a new career high. She finished the evening 10-18 from the floor.
Coach
Iris Dixon rallied the troops to a strong finish during halftime and the team responded in a big way. MBU began the third quarter on a 11-2 run and never looked back as the Spartans stormed their way to its second conference win of the year.
Taylor Klingelhoefer continued her pursuit on 1,000 career points on Thursday. The senior guard finished with 15 points and was a perfect 3-3 from three-point land.
-MBU nearly doubled-up the Owls in the final quarter, outscoring the visitors 30-17. Perhaps the most impressive part of it, however, was the lights-out free throw shooting. The Spartans were a perfect 10-10 in the final 10 minutes, which helped them to ice the game.
With the win, Missouri Baptist will remain in first place in the AMC with a tough road test on the horizon against Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) on Saturday in Belleville, Ill. Coming into Thursday's contest, the 0-8 Lady Lynx were still searching for their first win of the year.
