ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The Missouri Baptist Women's Lacrosse team took on the (RV) Braves of Ottawa University at Spartan Field on Wednesday. After a tough game of back and forth play, the Spartans came out on top for their third consecutive win.

Senior McKenna Fisher scored the first goal of the match barely a minute into the half. However, Ottawa's Kiarah Thomas was a force to be reckoned with throughout, as she tied things up just moments later. The Braves followed with two more goals, taking the lead by two. MBU managed to gain back control, as Kimmi Mathews and Audrey Frost tied things up at three apiece. From there, the squads began trading goals back and forth. Ottawa's Thomas managed to cruise past the Spartan defense to give the Braves the lead by two before halftime (7-5).

The teams picked up the pace heading into the second half, each trading their fair share of fouls. With those came a couple free position shots for MBU, allowing them to tie things up, once again (7-7). However, a few minutes later, Kiarah Thomas scored three back-to-back goals, giving the Braves another hefty lead (10-7), and forcing MoBap Head Coach Lindsay Carlile to call a timeout.

After a successful pep talk from Coach, the Spartans regrouped, slowing things down a bit. Fisher and Mathews scored a couple more, putting the Spartans within reach (10-9). After Ottawa extended their lead even further (11-9), MBU decided to pick things back up. With about seven minutes of play remaining, Grace Adams and Laura Ebers each scored, evening out the score for the third time.

It was do-or-die for both teams in the final minutes, as they battled it out. With only minutes remaining, Fisher decided enough was enough and snuck a goal past Ottawa's keeper. MBU managed to hold off the Braves for the remaining minutes, giving them their third consecutive win, 12-11.

Fisher led the Spartans in goals with a total of four, while Mathews followed right behind with three. Katie Pilla had seven successful draw controls, and Ebers led the match in ground balls with a total of five.

Kaitlin Mills racked up 16 saves, just beating her average of 15.25 per game. She currently ranks No. 1 in the NAIA in saves per game.

MBU is back in action on Thursday, March 29 at 5 pm. They'll take on the Lynx at Lindenwood-Belleville.