ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist women's basketball picked up a crucial American Midwest Conference win heading into Christmas Break on Saturday afternoon downing Harris-Stowe State University, 59-49. The Spartans (3-7, 3-4 AMC) moved into a tie for seventh place with William Woods in the AMC standings while keeping the Hornets (1-9, 0-6 AMC) winless in league play.
 
Fueling MBU's third win in four outings was a strong defensive effort in the opening and closing quarters as well as a big 8-0 advantage to start the game. In fact, the Hornets couldn't get anything going from the field for a majority of the first period. HSSU's first field goal of the game came with just 39 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Missouri Baptist took full advantage of the Hornets' coldspell carrying a 17-7 lead into the second quarter.
 
The Spartan defense continued to give Harris-Stowe troubles in the second quarter and limited the visitors to 17.1% shooting from the field in the first half and a meager 9.1% from 3-point range. MBU wasn't without its own struggles from beyond-the-arc in the first half connecting on just 1 of 9 tries. Helping offset the second-quarter shooting woes for the Spartans was five trips to the charity stripe with seven made free throws.
 
Much like the previous quarter, Harris-Stowe found a sliver of rhythm at the end of the period. The Hornets went on a 5-0 run to finish the half, however, Missouri Baptist still led 30-22 heading into the locker room. Freshman Taylor Norris paced the Spartans in the first half with nine points.
 
With a bit of momentum at the end of the half, the break happened to help the Hornets come out of their shooting funk even if it was just for one quarter. HSSU's brief turnaround happened to coincide with MBU's worst shooting stretch of the game. With the Spartans shooting 21.7% from the floor, the visitors were able to close the gap by outscoring MBU 19-15 in the third.
 
Right when Harris-Stowe was attempting to make a move, freshman guard Taylor Norris supplied the Spartans with a pair of clutch triples to go up, 51-44. Sealing the deal was the Spartans' defense, which allowed just one HSSU field goal in the final 10 minutes.
 
"It was a gutsy performance down the stretch, holding them to eight points in the fourth quarter," MBU head women's basketball coach Samuel Pearson said. "We figured out a way to win and I'd rather find a way to win ugly than to lose pretty."
 
The lockdown "D" was needed on a day where the Spartans averaged 30.3% from the field, 20% from 3-point range and just 55.6% from the free-throw line. Individually, Taylor Norris led all scorers with 18 points on 6-of-18 shooting and 4-of-10 from long range. Despite an off day shooting, sophomore guard Tionne Taylor had quite the stat line with 10 points, a team-high 8 rebounds, 6 steals and 5 assists.
 
Other notable performances on Saturday included freshman Alexis Allstun's 5-block outing, senior Megan Fassino (8 points, 5 rebounds), junior Kimberley Shaw (6 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds) and Rose Wassef (6 points).
 
The Spartans will return to the hardwood on Monday, December 30 as they welcome non-conference opponent Evangel University to the Carl and Deloris Petty Sports & Recreation Complex at 5:30 p.m.