ST. LOUIS – A late second-quarter run by the Missouri Baptist women's basketball team ended up being the driving force in an 88-73 win at St. Louis College of Pharmacy on Thursday evening. For the sixth year in a row, the Spartans opened up American Midwest Conference play with a "W" in the win column.
Missouri Baptist snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 2-3 overall.
The Spartans had a firm grasp of the game in the earlygoing and led by as much as 12 in the first quarter. That comfortable margin went out the window with less than two minutes remaining in the opening period. St. Louis College of Pharmacy caught fire making three straight shots in a row and knocking down five free throws to even the game at 26-26.
That was just the beginning of an onslaught of free throws throughout the rest of the contest. On a night in which 71 fouls were called between the two teams, the Eutectics visited the free-throw line 41 times to MBU's 28 and were more efficient. On the night, STLCOP outscored the Spartans, 30-19, during its trips to the charity stripe.
Heading into the second quarter with momentum, the Eutectics took their first lead of the game early less than a minute in and didn't relinquish it for five minutes. The turning point for the Spartans came when the game was tied at 40-all. Sophomore guard
Caroline Rogers grabbed an offensive rebound, dropped it in the bucket for two, drew a foul and completed the three-point play to give MBU a 43-40 advantage. Rogers played a key role in the Spartans scoring 10 unanswered points, registering a steal, two rebounds and another basket off of a turnover. The Spartans finished the half on a 14-4 run and ultimately built up enough of a reserve to fend off the Eutectics after the break.
MBU pushed its lead to as much as 17, but once again, the wildcard came into play in the fourth quarter as St. Louis College of Pharmacy reached the bonus with more than five minutes left on the clock. The Eutectics narrowed the gap to single digits and got within five at 78-73, but with players fouling out and the STLCOP coach getting ejected, the Spartans staved off an upset on the road.
Sophomore guard
Izzy Farrell was one basket and one assist shy of recording the rare triple-double. Farrell finished the game with 8 points, 9 assists and 12 rebounds. Senior
Alissa Rowden led the Spartans in scoring with 19 points, shooting 5-of-9 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line.
Joining Rowden in double figures was
Le'Ondra Wilson (15 points, 3 rebounds) and
Kadesha Cooper, who finished the night with 15 points and four boards. The senior transfer from Oklahoma Baptist University was 5-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-3 from long range.
St. Louis College of Pharmacy was led by Michon Forrest, Allison Dewald and Morgan Rose, who combined for 58 of the Eutectics' 73 points.
The Spartans hit the road again on Saturday and will head down I-70 to Parkville, Missouri for an AMC matchup with Park University (1-3, 0-1 AMC). Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.
