ST. LOUIS – Behind a season-high 24 points from senior Kadesha Cooper, the Missouri Baptist University women's basketball team registered a 68-63 victory over Central Baptist College on Thursday evening. The win helped snap a three-game losing streak and gave the Spartans a signature win over the Mustangs (14-6, 10-6 AMC), who are still sitting in fifth place in the American Midwest Conference standings after the loss.
 
In addition to a career night from Cooper, the Spartans had to lean heavily on their free-throw shooting down the stretch to fend off the visitors from Conway, Ark. After shooting just 44 percent from the line in the first half, MBU ended on a much higher note by knocking down 16 of their final 18 free throws (.888).
 
The first quarter was in large part the Kadesha Cooper-Joelle Atkins show. Cooper scored seven of the first nine points for the Spartans and aided in a quick 9-3 start. Within the first five minutes, freshman Joelle Atkins, who was making her second straight start, scored a pair of buckets down low and also cleaning up on the glass with three rebounds.
 
With a six-point advantage, the Spartans went silent for the last three minutes of the quarter and allowed Central Baptist to even it at 15-all. A solid 54 percent shooting clip was unfortunately offset by 10 first-quarter turnovers.
 
The Spartans opened up the second quarter on a tear shooting 75 percent (6-for-8) with threes from Cooper and Alexia Duncan. Pair with stops on the defensive end, the Spartans were able to push ahead to 29-20, representing their largest lead of the game.
 
At halftime, Missouri Baptist led the Mustangs, 36-29. Kadesha Cooper already had an impressive stat line with 14 points and three assists. Joelle Atkins also impressed early with eight points and five rebounds, both career highs in just one half and eight minutes of action.
 
The momentum slowed down as the Spartans went from shooting 60 percent overall to a 21-percent clip in the third quarter. Whenever MBU's lead seemed to be dwindling, the Spartans would find a way to knock down a shot or get to the free-throw line.
 
Much like the third quarter, the fourth was action packed. All signs pointed to it being a battle to the final buzzer. Both teams amped up the pressure on defense and for just the second time this season, the Spartans came out on the winning end of a down-to-the-wire finish.
 
Two key plays helped seal the deal for the Spartans. The first was a collective effort breaking CBC's full-court press and Alissa Rowden finishing it off with a fastbreak layup. The second was Cooper getting to the line with 23.1 seconds remaining. The senior from Prattsville, Ark. hit two clutch free throws to send the Mustangs home with a loss.
 
Cooper finished the game with 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Even though she was 1-for-8 from the field, fellow senior Alissa Rowden joined Cooper in double figures with 11 points thanks to a 9-of-10 mark from the charity stripe. Rowden also pitched in five assists, three rebounds and three steals. Megan Fassino and Rose Wassef added seven points apiece.
 
The Spartans once again have a quick turnaround playing again at home on Saturday. Missouri Baptist welcomes No. 19 Lyon (18-3, 14-2 AMC) to the Petty Sports & Recreation Complex at 1 p.m.