BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – Two clutch plays by Taylor Norris with less than 10 seconds remaining helped Missouri Baptist University women's basketball fend off Blue Mountain College in a 60-57 road victory Tuesday afternoon. After knocking down a pair of free throws with :09 on the clock, the sophomore point guard made just as big of an impact on the other end of the floor swatting away a potential game-tying 3-pointer as time expired.
 
The down-to-the-wire win secured the first 2-0 start to a season for the Spartans since 2010.
 
Following a rather slow start to the game, Missouri Baptist made its move midway through the second quarter. Down by five (18-13), the Spartans staged a 9-0 run and ended the half with an 8-0 stretch to go into the break with a 32-26 lead. The group consisting of Tionne Taylor, KK Hayden, Kim Shaw and Taylor Norris made up 28 of the Spartans' 32 points in the first half.
 
In the first half, MBU shot 50 percent from the field and from 3-point range, while leading the rebound battle, 22-14.
 
MoBap scored the first 5 points out of the break and built the largest lead of the game for either team (+11), but saw the double-digit margin disappear by the end of the quarter. That was just the beginning of a back-and-forth race to the finish.
 
BMC's Olivia Chadwell made a pair of free throws with 2:12 remaining in the contest to tie the ballgame at 55-55. On the ensuing possession, KK Hayden fed Alexis Allstun in the post for an easy bucket, also putting the Spartans ahead for good.
 
Taylor Norris and Tionne Taylor each scored 15 points apiece to lead Missouri Baptist in scoring. Norris shot an uncharacteristic 0-for-3 from the free-throw line before hitting her last three when they counted the most. The Salem, Mo. native was 2-of-5 from 3-point range and registered a game-high 7 assists. Tionne Taylor posted a game-high 5 steals in addition to her 15-point effort.
 
Sophomore center Alexis Allstun joined Norris and Taylor in double digits with 12 points, while also adding 4 rebounds, 2 steals and a block to her stat line.
 
Other notable performances included KK Hayden and Kim Shaw with all 13 of their points coming in the first half. Starters Sara Hermosa and Kenzie Burt, along with Lauren Ebert and Joelle Atkins, logged meaningful minutes especially on the defense, where they combined for 17 boards, 3 blocks and 3 steals.
 
MBU's next scheduled contest is set for Monday, Nov. 30 at Bethel University in McKenzie, Tenn.