ST. LOUIS – Despite putting up a season-high 80 points against one of the tougher defenses in the NAIA, Missouri Baptist women's basketball still fell short at home on Thursday to Williams Baptist University, 90-80. The Spartans have now lost three in a row to the Eagles.
 
On one hand, MBU surpassed its scoring average by 15 points and registered the most points by a Williams Baptist opponent this season. Coming into Thursday's matchup, the Eagles were yielding just 55 points per game to opposing offenses. On the flip side, WBU's 90 points set a new mark for most points given up by the Missouri Baptist 'D' in 2019-20.  
 
An 80-point offensive effort has been few in far between for the Spartans in recent years. For instance, it is just the second time this season that MBU has hit the 80-point plateau. It's even less frequent that the Spartans score 80 and come up empty in the win-loss column. Since 2010-11, there have only been three occurrences when MBU women's basketball has scored 80 and suffered a defeat.
 
With the loss, the Spartans dropped to 4-10, 4-6 AMC while remaining two games ahead of St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Harris-Stowe State in the AMC standings.
 
After scoring the first five points of the game, Missouri Baptist seized the momentum and jumped out to an early 16-5 advantage. The shots were falling for the Spartans, particularly from beyond the arc with Taylor Norris (2), Tionne Taylor and Rose Wassef all registering a triple in the first quarter. Also drawing a foul and converting a 3-point play was freshman forward Kaylynn Hayden.
 
Up by as much as 10 (22-12), the Spartans first-quarter lead disappeared due to a slew of unforced errors. Williams Baptist knotted the game at 22-all in the first possession of the second quarter. After the two teams traded runs in the period, WBU took its first lead of the game at 35-33 and entered halftime up 38-34.
 
With the game still in reach, Williams Baptist unleashed an offensive attack that MoBap could not stop. The Eagles knocked down five 3s, shot 63 percent from the floor and totaled 31 points in the third quarter.
 
Trying to battle back, Missouri Baptist finally chopped the deficit down to single digits with just over 90 seconds remaining via a Lauren Ebert 3-pointer. The Spartans made it a two-possession ballgame twice in the last minute, but were unable to pull off the comeback.
 
For the fifth time this season, MBU's Tionne Taylor scored 20 points or more. The sophomore standout and recently crowned Raising Cane's Athlete of the Month finished the night with a game-high 20 points and 5 assists. Three other Spartans joined her in double-figure scoring including Taylor Norris (12 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals), Megan Fassino (14 points, 6 rebounds) and Rose Wassef (11 points, 3-of-6 3FG).
 
Up next for the Spartans is No. 9-ranked Freed-Hardeman University (10-5, 7-2 AMC) at home on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Lions, who reached the NAIA National Championship Semifinals in 2018-19 and won it all in 2017-18, have hit a bit of a rough patch losing their last two games.