ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist University women's basketball suffered another setback on Thursday evening as Williams Baptist University came to town and grabbed a 71-56 win from the Spartans. It marks the fourth consecutive American Midwest Conference (AMC) contest that the Spartans have dropped.
 
The road doesn't get any easier for the Spartans, who are now 3-9 overall and 2-6 in the AMC. Up next for Missouri Baptist is the toughest two-game stretch of any NAIA women's basketball program as the Spartans welcome top-ranked Freed-Hardeman (13-0, 7-0 AMC) to the Petty Sports & Recreation Complex on Saturday followed by a mid-week trip to second-ranked Columbia College (10-2, 6-2 AMC) next Thursday.
 
MBU, which had won the previous four meetings against Williams Baptist, let the game get away in the opening period and was unable to recover from the early deficit. The visiting Eagles shot 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the floor in the first quarter and led 23-12 after one.
 
The two teams traded baskets the remainder of the contest as Williams Baptist outscored MBU just 48-44 in the final 30 minutes. In several instances, the Spartans attempted to chip away at the Eagles' lead but would yield an untimely turnover or uncontested bucket at the other end. On the evening, Williams Baptist scored 24 points off of turnovers and made a statement in the paint with a 48-26 scoring advantage over the Spartans.
 
In addition to a lack of points in the paint, Missouri Baptist was unable to get anything going from long range. The Spartans shot well under their season average hitting just four 3-pointers on 20 attempts (.200).
 
Senior guard Alissa Rowden was one of the bright spots for head coach Samuel Pearson's squad. She finished with a game-high 16 points and five steals to go along with four assists. Others notable performances included Megan Fassino (7 points, 3 blocks), Le'Ondra Wilson (5 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals) and Nicole Griesenauer (4 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists).