BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – A career game from junior forward Sara Hermosa was just what the doctor ordered on a night in which Missouri Baptist Women's Basketball was down six players with limited options off the bench. The Spartans overcame that minor challenge and led all 40 minutes of the game on their way to a 74-59 win at Baker University.
 
Thursday's triumph marked just the second season-opening win in eight tries for the Spartans as they moved to 1-0.
 
"With the first game of a season, there are always a lot of unknowns," head coach Samuel Pearson said following Thursday's win. "But, one thing we pride ourselves on is the three E's – Effort, Efficiency and Energy – and I thought we did all three of those well tonight, especially playing with a short bench."
 
MBU had the hot hand in the opening quarter scoring 15 of its 25 points off of triples. As a team, the Spartans were 8-for-14 (.571) from the field, 5-of-9 (.555) from behind the arc, and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Hermosa contributed 8 points in the quarter to give Missouri Baptist a 25-17 lead after one.
 
The Wildcats clawed their way back midway through the second and narrowed the margin to three, however, MoBap entered halftime with a double-digit advantage thanks to consecutive fouls in the paint and 3-point plays from Hermosa and Tionne Taylor. MBU led 42-32 at the half.
 
The Spartans' double-digit lead remained intact for the rest of the contest. Baker fell behind by as much as 21 in the fourth quarter and couldn't get much going outside of Abby Bird (24 points), Sara Oca (10 points) and Emma Cunningham (8 points).
 
Hermosa, a 6-foot forward from Zamora, Spain, paced the Spartans with a team- and career-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Her new career high blew the previous mark out of the water, surpassing it by 12 points. The junior had never reached double digits in any game during her first two seasons.
 
"Sara [Hermosa] played one heckuva game and if there was a game ball going out to anyone, it would be going to her," Pearson added.
 
Joining Hermosa in double figures was Taylor Norris, who was quite active in her 39 minutes of action. The 2019-20 AMC All-Freshman Team selection knocked down four treys and finished with a final stat line of 16 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 steal.
 
Starters Alexis Allstun and Kenzie Burt both had games on the fringe of double-double territory. Before fouling out, Allstun, another 2019-20 AMC All-Freshman Team selection, recorded 6 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 assists. Burt was one point shy of reaching double figures and added 7 rebounds to her line.
 
Other notable performances, particularly off the bench, included Lauren Ebert (6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, 1 block) and Joelle Atkins (3 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal).

Missouri Baptist's next test will once again be on the road as the Spartans travel to Davenport, Iowa for a meeting with St. Ambrose University on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 5:30 p.m.