BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – Four players scored in double figures as the Missouri Baptist women's basketball program spoiled Olivet Nazarene University's homecoming weekend game with a 109-108 victory on Friday (Oct. 26).
 
The Spartans opened the season with a win for the second time in three years as they defeated a strong ONU squad that was just ranked No. 18 in the NAIA Division II Preseason Top 25 Poll and finished 2017-18 with a 23-10 overall record.
 
Pulling off the 'W' on Friday evening was also special as it marked the first win under the direction of first-year head coach Samuel Pearson.
 
After getting off to a slow start, MBU finally found some rhythm halfway through the first half and took its first lead of the game with a Rose Wassef 3-pointer to make it 18-16.
 
The two teams continued to battle back and forth and were all knotted up at 26 at the end of the first quarter. It was once again Olivet Nazarene that started the period with a hot hand. The Tigers separated themselves for a short while leading by as much as 10, however, the Spartans clawed back and ended the half on a 7-0 run to take a five-point lead into the break.
 
The high-scoring affair continued into the second half and neither team could distance itself from the other.
 
Olivet Nazarene grabbed the lead in the fourth quarter and remained ahead for a majority of the final period. That is until senior Alissa Rowden converted an and-1 opportunity with just under a minute remaining. Rowden's 3-point play was followed up by teammate Jordan Wyatt's go-ahead layup.
 
While the Spartans had a somewhat alarming number of turnovers in the game (38), the team was able to compensate elsewhere, particularly shooting from the floor. Missouri Baptist made 67.6 percent of its field goals for the game and an even more impressive 75.8 percent in the second half (25-for-33).
 
It marked just the fifth time in the last 10 years that the women's squad has surpassed the 100-point plateau.
Senior guard Alissa Rowden led the Spartans with a team- and game-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Newcomer Kadesha Cooper wasn't far behind as the Oklahoma Baptist University transfer logged 32 minutes of play and a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. In addition to shooting 78.5 percent from the field, Cooper also dished out four assists.
 
Returners Rose Wassef and Le'Ondra Wilson were MBU's other scorers in double figures with 18 and 12, respectively.
 
Coming up next for the 1-0 Spartans is the Grand View University Classic. Missouri Baptist will take on (RV) William Penn University on Friday, Nov. 2 before wrapping up the tournament against host Grand View on Saturday.