ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] Slow starts have become part of the season for Missouri Baptist Women's Basketball in 2015-16. It has become an issue that the team has both overcome, and one, which has plagued it.
On Saturday in Henderson, Tenn., it was more than just a slow start. Missouri Baptist posted just three first quarter points and was unable to recover in a 87-53 loss to No. 13-ranked Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.).
Missouri Baptist (6-9, 5-7) looked lost at times in the opening 10 minutes, and though this quarter will be critiqued, the Spartans found its game in the second quarter and played right with the Lady Lions.
Freed-Hardeman, which has experienced its share of setbacks in 2015-16, entered Saturday afternoon's contest on a two-game win streak and was looking re-assert itself as one of the most dominant teams in the nation.
From the jump, the Lady Lions looked poised and calm as they scored the game's first eight points and concluded the first quarter up 25-3. It's offense playing at a blistering pace, Freed-Hardeman looked to Brandee Busenlehner to guide the team. The guard from Locust Fork, Ala., provided 13 points in the first quarter and dropped three, three-pointers on the Spartans in the process. Though the senior cooled as the game went on, she finished with 19 points and went 5-7 from behind the arc.
Missouri Baptist has dug itself out of early holes in the past, but Saturday's deficit was, simply put, a bridge too far. The second quarter became a fresh start for the Spartans and the team looked entirely different. MBU played evenly to the Lady Lions, both teams with 20 points, and entered halftime down 45-23.
Freed-Hardeman's offense came out hot once again in the third quarter. Kenley Crowell led the team out of the locker room with the quarter's first bucket, a three-pointer, and added to the home team's lead to make it 48-23. Crowell posted eight of the team's 29 points in the quarter.
Taylor Klingelhoefer led the Spartans on the afternoon. The senior posted 16 points and went 8-10 from the free-throw line. Angela Talley recorded 12 points for MBU, which was a significant statistic. This was the third game in a row that Talley recorded double-digit point totals, a first in her career.
Crowell led the Lady Lions with 21 points and two steals, as veteran Taleeah Cross posted 16.
The Lady Lions recorded 71 shots from the floor, and though the team shot under 50 percent from the field as a whole, Freed-Hardeman went an impressive 8-15 from beyond the arc.
The Spartans will have just one game next week as the team will return home to face the Stephens College (Mo.) Stars on Thursday. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Carl and Deloris Petty Sports and Recreation Complex.
