ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] After leading by as many as 15 points on Saturday against Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.), Missouri Baptist saw its advantage vanish in the blink of an eye. The Spartans struggled to gather critical rebounds line down the stretch and dropped a 74-70 decision to the Lady Lynx in American Midwest Conference action.
Missouri Baptist (2-5, 1-2 AMC) looked strong and dominant at the beginning of Saturday's contest, but a strong finish by the Lady Lynx told the story. After shooting 25 percent from the floor in the first half, Lindenwood powered through with a 41 percent shooting mark in the final 20 minutes to seal the victory.
The Spartans trailed 7-2 early, but a 9-2 run helped them out of the hole and into the driver's seat with three minutes remaining in the first quarter. They exited the opening 10 minutes up 24-15 and looked as if they would run away with the game.
The shooting cooled, however, as the Lady Lynx began to defend the low post attack of Amanda Scott. The Spartan junior set-up shop underneath all-day and finished with 23 points and went 10-12 from the floor. Scott's final point total was a new career high while at Missouri Baptist.
The Spartans pushed the pace from the outset of the second quarter as well. Coach Iris Dixon's methodical approach on offense paid dividends for Missouri Baptist as the team increased its lead to 15 in a span of 6:07.
It was after the third quarter, however, that the lead began to dwindle. After posting a nine-point lead heading into the final quarter, Lindenwood-Belleville put together an impressive comeback to not only get it close, but to take a nine point advantage of its own. The Lady Lynx went on a 21-2 run as the Spartans were out-rebounded under the glass.
In the fourth quarter, Lindenwood-Belleville out-rebounded Missouri Baptist 9-1 on the defensive end, which helped the Lady Lynx complete the comeback.
In the final quarter, Missouri Baptist went ice cold from the floor until the final minute, which opened the door for Lindenwood-Belleville. The Spartans went 1-11 until Amanda Scott's bucket with 1:19 remaining in the game.
Then, just when most fans seemed to have closed the book on the Spartans on the day, the three-point shooting came alive. Missouri Baptist, down by nine points with 22 seconds remaining, put together a barrage of buckets from downtown. Time, however, was not on the Spartan's side. The clock clicked down just after Amanda Rowden and Shay Robinson connected on three shots behind the arc in that time frame to cut the lead to four.
With just two seconds remaining, Robinson hit her second three-pointer in 22 seconds, but the Spartans were unable to get a foul called as time expired.
With the loss, the Spartans will enjoy a 12-day break before hosting Lyon (Ark.) at the Carl and Deloris Petty Sports and Recreation Complex on December 15.
