ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist Women's Basketball's four-game winning streak and perfect start to the season came to an end Friday night as (RV) Indiana Wesleyan University escaped from the Petty Sports & Recreation Complex with an 87-76 win.  
 
"We had a lot of good things that we did tonight, but we have a lot of things to work on," said head coach Samuel Pearson following the team's first loss of 2020-21. "This is the first time we have really hit adversity and in the face of adversity, we kind of crumbled a little bit and weren't a cohesive unit. We have to stay together and play the brand of basketball that got us to this point."
 
It was certainly a game of ebb and flow with momentum coming and going for both teams. The visiting Wildcats knocked down three triples early on to jump out to a 19-6 lead and a 23-13 advantage heading into the second quarter. A Lauren Ebert 3-pointer to start the second period got MoBap within single digits, however, each time the Spartans cut into the Wildcats' lead, IWU responded, most often in the form of three or an easy, momentum-stopping bucket.
 
Indiana Wesleyan, which is receiving votes in the latest NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll (27^th), went into halftime ahead, 42-31.
 
Out of the break, IWU went on an 8-0 run and reached the largest lead of the game (+21) at 55-34 and just three minutes into the half. Ebert and fellow sophomore KK Hayden provided the needed spark off the bench to keep the Spartans within reach. Following another Indiana Wesleyan surge, things began to click for MBU when it picked up the tempo and amped up the full-court pressure. The Spartans went on a 10-2 run in the final minute of the third to slash the deficit to 10.
 
A pair of Tionne Taylor free throws to begin the fourth made it a single-digit ballgame for the first time since the 7:00 mark in the second quarter (27-19). Shortly thereafter, [Tionne] Taylor and Taylor Norris hit back-to-back threes to get within 1 of the Wildcats. Once again, IWU made some timely baskets include a clutch 3 by IWU's Kelli Damman and a successful and-1 opportunity for Anne Secrest.
 
With both teams in foul trouble, it was a back-and-forth battle at the free-throw line for a majority of the fourth quarter.
 
On the night, Indiana Wesleyan was just below its season free-throw percentage at 80.6% converting on 29 of its 36 attempts. The Wildcats shot 43.1% from the field and held a 41-36 advantage in rebounding.
 
Taylor Norris, the reigning AMC Player of the Week, led the Spartans in assists (4) as well as scoring for the third time this season with 22 points. Despite a 1-for-12 clip from long range, the sophomore came on strong in the second half scoring 18 of her 22 after halftime.
 
Lauren Ebert, who has solidified a prominent role for the Spartans this year, continued her strong play off the bench on Friday with 19 points and 6 rebounds, eclipsing her previous career high in scoring (15) with nearly 16 minutes left on the clock. IWU head coach Ethan Whaley eventually had his defense key in on Ebert, who was 7-for-12 from the field and 4-of-6 (.666) from beyond the arc.
 
KK Hayden and Tionne Taylor joined Norris and Ebert in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
After back-to-back games with just 12 turnovers, MBU yielded 25 points off turnovers to the Wildcats off of 20 total giveaways.
 
The Spartans will now break for Christmas and return to the court on Saturday, January 2 with the final non-conference matchup against Missouri Valley College.