SAINT LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist Women's Basketball put together one of its strongest defensive efforts of the season against the No. 1-ranked three-point offense in the nation on Tuesday. The Spartans kept it close until midway through the fourth quarter, but fell to the No. 14-ranked Lyon (Ark.) 70-53.
 
Missouri Baptist (5-5, 3-3 AMC) put together a tough first quarter against Lyon as the defense led the effort. The Spartans held the top three-point shooting team in the nation 0-5 from three-point range in the opening 10 minutes as the home team jumped out to a 13-12 advantage.
 
It was the second quarter, however, that put the Spartans behind the eight-ball. Ali Tucker hit two of the team's three triples in the second frame as the Scots fired back. Lyon cruised to 21 points in quarter on the way to a 33-25 halftime lead.
 
The Spartans were held to just 12, second quarter points on Tuesday and after an inspired effort in first quarter, Briya Wilborn was held off the scoresheet.
 
After the break, however, the Spartans jumped back to life. Missouri Baptist erased recent memories of third quarter woes and outscored the Scots 17-15 to enter the fourth quarter down 48-42.
 
The Spartans put together a solid effort in the fourth quarter but was never able to make it over the hump against a talented Scots squad.
 
Shay Robinson led the Spartans with a 15-point performance on Saturday as she hit critical shots down the stretch to keep her team in it until the end.
 
As a team, the Spartans shot just 29 percent from the floor, which told much of the story. Lyon outscored Missouri Baptist 32-10 in the paint, which was where the Spartans hoped to have the advantage.
 
Though the Scots were held to under their average from three-point range on the season in the game, the Spartans found difficulty getting on the board throughout the contest.
 
With the win, the Scots secured their ninth consecutive victory while the Spartans fell to 5-5 on the year after a win against Central Baptist (Ark.) on Saturday.
 
Missouri Baptist will enter the break with a .500 record in conference play as they will head back out on the road after the holiday to face Stephens (Mo.) on Thursday, Dec. 28. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Columbia, Mo.