ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] After a long road trip, nothing helps get a team going more than a solid, consistent effort in front of a home crowd. Missouri Baptist Women's Basketball did just that on Thursday against Stephens College (Mo.) The Spartans posted a sizeable first quarter lead and maintained their composure throughout in a 56-41 win in American Midwest Conference play.
Missouri Baptist (7-9, 6-7 AMC) looked good early as the team seemed focused from the outset. Danna Jenkins posted the first bucket of the game to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead, one in which MBU never surrendered.
After Mattie White made it 4-0, the Stars got on the board. Danna Heggemann, knocked down both of her free throw attempts as the Stephens leading scorer continued her pursuit to become the All-Time Leading Scorer at the University. Prior to the game, she needed just 73 points in the final 12 games of the regular season to secure the distinction. The senior finished with 13 points.
MBU led 15-6 after one quarter, which helped to erase recent memories of slow offensive starts. This was the first time in three games the Spartans reached double-digits in the opening 10 minutes.
A high-paced transition game fueled the Spartan offense in the second quarter. MBU caused seven Stephens turnovers in the period on the way to a 28-20 lead after 20 minutes.
The Spartans continued its consistent play in the third quarter, though the Stars threatened. Stephens went on a 6-0 run to cut its deficit to three, but MBU fired right back with a 7-0 run of its own and closed the quarter with a 10-point, 43-33 lead.
Things opened-up for MBU in the final 10 minutes as the team continued to find opportunities. Danna Jenkins led the balanced attack with 11 points and six rebounds on the night as the Spartans picked-up their sixth conference win of the year.
The Spartans shot just over 40 percent in the game and held the Stars to just a shade over 27 percent from the floor.
The Spartans will now get the weekend off and will prepare for a tough matchup against William Woods (Mo.) next Thursday in Fulton, Mo. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Anderson Arena.
