ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] Change has come to the Missouri Baptist Women's Basketball team. For the first time since the 2012-13 season, the Spartans have put together three wins in a row, and now are edging themselves back into the thick of it in the American Midwest Conference after a 57-54 win on the road at Harris-Stowe (Mo.) on Saturday.
Missouri Baptist (6-7, 5-5 AMC), now with a .500 record in the conference and just one game shy of .500 on the season, has pulled itself up by the bootstraps and is circling the middle of the pack in one of the top conferences in the entire NAIA.
Saturday's game was a tale of two halves for the Spartans as a slow start could have proved catastrophic. Instead, resilience was the word of the day for Missouri Baptist. After shooting 33 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, they came out of halftime and shot 52 percent in the final two quarters.
Jerica Hawkins put the Spartans on the board in her first two opportunities, but the offensive well dried-up shortly thereafter. MBU was held scoreless for nearly seven minutes in the first quarter and entered the second down 11-6.
While the offense never seemed to click for Missouri Baptist until the end of the second quarter, the free throw shooting of Harris-Stowe allowed the Spartans to hang around. The Hornets shot just 38.5 percent from the charity stripe in the first half.
Harris-Stowe ran its lead to as many as nine with 2:52 remaining in the first half before the Spartan team effort began to play to its strengths. MBU went on a 7-2 run to end the second quarter, and allowed Missouri Baptist to cut its deficit to 24-20.
The third and fourth quarters for Missouri Baptist were as strong as any this season, though the team spent extended periods without its top scorer, Jerica Hawkins. The guard gathered three fouls in the first half and exited the game with 2:14 remaining in the second quarter. She would not return until the 9:38 point of the fourth quarter.
Hawkins' foul troubles, however, did not hold her back. She finished the game with 18 points and three steals.
Angela Talley added some of the most valuable minutes for Missouri Baptist on Saturday. The senior from Westmont, Ill., played over 31 minutes off the bench for the Spartans and put together another big game. She finished with 12 points and was 4-6 from the free throw line.
Missouri Baptist outscored the Hornets 17-15 in the third quarter and trailed by just two heading into the fourth. The final quarter became one of the best of the season for the Spartans as the team took the momentum and capitalized on its opportunities.
The crowd at the Emerson Performance Center got their moneys' worth in the fourth quarter. After having seen just one lead change in the first three quarters, the lead changed hands nine times in the final 10 minutes.
Kahlilah Morrow hit the back-half of her free throw attempts with just over 50 seconds to give the home team a two-point lead. As time clicked-down, however, it was Missouri Baptist who would get the best of its final possessions.
Hawkins tied the game under the hoop with 38 seconds remaining and hit what became the game-winning point just moments later on the and-one chance. Danna Jenkins chipped-in the final two free throws as the Spartans moved to 5-5 in American Midwest Conference play.
Dynesha Powell gave MBU all it could handle on the afternoon. The sophomore from East St. Louis, Ill., was dynamic as she finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
With the win, the Spartans are just one win shy of moving back to .500 overall and has set itself up for a battle in the AMC for conference position as the midway point of league play looms.
Two tough contests await Missouri Baptist on the road in the coming week, as the team will travel to Williams Baptist (Ark.) and Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
