ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] A win couldn't be much sweeter for Missouri Baptist Women's Basketball. The Spartans, who entered Tuesday night in the midst of a five game losing streak, needed a conference victory to begin to right the ship after a tough stretch of games through the holidays. The team put up some of its best offensive numbers of the season in the second half as MBU defeated Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) 71-66.
Missouri Baptist (4-7, 3-5 AMC) looked to get back to its winning ways, but had to buck a dangerous trend it was on to do it. Going into Tuesday night's game, the Spartans were 0-5 when trailing at the half, but an inspired effort in the final 20 minutes led the visitors to their third American Midwest Conference victory of the year.
Hannibal-LaGrange fell behind 18-14 after one quarter of play, but pushed right back in the second. The Trojans held Missouri Baptist to 13 points in the second 10 minutes, but thanks in large part to Morgan Winkler, broke through the Spartan defense to take a 34-31 lead into halftime. Winkler posted 16 first half points, eight each in the first and second quarters, on the way to a 24-point performance. Her night was just one shy of tying a career-high.
After shooting a just under 41 percent in the game's opening half, MBU kicked it into high gear in the final 20 minutes. The Spartans shot 62 percent from the floor in that span and grabbed just its first conference win since a stirring 84-61 upset over William Woods (Mo.) back on December 3.
Hannibal-LaGrange, on the other hand, is experiencing a similar issue and with the loss, has dropped five straight.
As the game continued in a back-and-forth struggle through the midway point of the third quarter, the Spartans broke through the clutter and began to take control. Emma Penn posted a bucket to give the Trojans a four-point, 42-38 lead with 5:29 left, but it was Missouri Baptist who was spurred to grab the momentum. Penn ended her evening as the second leading scorer on either side with 18 points.
MBU went on an 11-2 run after Penn scored, capped-off with a basket by Mattie White, and took a five-point lead, its largest of the game to that point.
White was consistent both on offense and on the boards all night. The forward came a point and a rebound shy of a double double in the game.
The Spartans survived a scare by the home team as the fourth quarter commenced. The Trojans put together a 9-4 run to begin the final 10 minutes, which tied the game, but the Spartans responded quickly and efficiently. MBU regained the lead and ran it up as high as eight before the final whistle blew.
Jerica Hawkins finished with 16 points, just shy of her 16.7 point per game average, and led MBU on the stat sheet. Hawkins also tied a career high in assists with five.
Kennedy Smith went 6-11 from the floor, and was a perfect 3-3 from the charity stripe, on the way to a 15-point night.
Taylor Klingelhoefer, who continued her search for 1,000 career points, ended her night with 10 more. The senior now sits at 965 and will hope to break the barrier within the next few games.
The Spartans will return home on Thursday to meet the St. Louis College of Pharmacy Eutectics, the second of a three-game week for Missouri Baptist. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Carl and Deloris Petty Sports and Recreation Complex.
