SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Missouri Baptist University women's basketball team was hoping for a better outcome against yet another tough Heart of America Athletic Conference opponent, but it was Evangel University (4-0) who came out on top of an 80-59 decision Monday evening.
 
With the loss, the MBU drops to 1-3 on the year and 0-3 against Heart of America teams.
 
After five minutes of closely-contested action to begin the game, Evangel opened up the flood gates and had poured in 25 points and had a comfortable 16-point advantage by the end of the first period. Trailing by as much as 17, the Spartans tried to trim the lead and made some headway midway through second quarter with a 9-0 run all scored inside the paint.
 
Missouri Baptist got no closer than 35-28 after the Crusaders closed the half on a 5-0 run. At the half, Evangel led MBU, 42-30.
 
The Spartans, which shot 41.4% from the field in the first half, went cold in the final 20 minutes of play shooting just 10-for-37 (.270). Meanwhile, the Crusaders improved on their 45.7% clip in the second half and shot 53.6% the rest of the way.
 
Senior Alissa Rowden paced MBU in scoring with 14 points and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. Nicole Griesenauer joined Rowden in double figures with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting, a career-high for the Wentzville, Mo. freshman. Jordan Wyatt led the Spartans in both assists (3) and steals (3) with 4 points and 4 rebounds.
 
Missouri Baptist plays two more games on the road before making its way back to the Carl & Deloris Petty Sports & Recreation Complex for its home opener on Nov. 27. This Thursday however marks the start of American Midwest Conference (AMC) with St. Louis College of Pharmacy hosting the Spartans at 5:30 p.m.