CONWAY, Ark. – The Missouri Baptist University women's basketball team won in dramatic fashion Saturday leaving Conway, Arkansas with an 87-81 triple overtime triumph over Central Baptist College. It marked the Spartans' first win at A.R. Reddin Fieldhouse since 2016-17 and just the second 'W' in 6 tries.
 
After close calls with American Midwest Conference frontrunners, then-No. 22 Columbia and -No. 23 Lyon, Missouri Baptist has now won three in a row in the AMC and sits at 7-4 overall. The Spartans delivered Central Baptist its first loss of the season and in league play as the Mustangs (5-1, 0-1 AMC) had a delayed start in the AMC due to COVID Protocol.
 
It also had been awhile since MBU's last overtime game – 5+ years to be exact. Saturday's extra-period thriller didn't disappoint.
 
From the get go, this one had the makings of a game that could be a battle to the finish. Throughout the 55 minutes of action-packed basketball, neither team could push their lead to double digits. In fact, seven points was the largest lead for both CBC and MBU.
 
Central Baptist's "big lead" came early in the game when they jumped out to an 15-8 advantage with 3:39 left in the first. The Spartans answered with an 8-2 run to end the period and trailed by just one. Sophomore Kenzie Burt was one of the main catalysts knocking down a pair of threes. Burt was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and 2-of-2 from 3-point range, while the rest of the team was 3-for-13 in the opening quarter.
 
The second quarter was forgettable for both teams as MBU and CBC shot 25% and 23%, respectively. The end result was the same: CBC held a one-point advantage (28-27) heading into halftime.
 
MoBap had one of its better quarters offensively in the third, hitting 7-of-13 from the floor. Unfortunately for the Spartans, Central Baptist would not relinquish the lead until the fourth and for the third time in a row, led by a point heading into the final period in regulation.
 
MBU and CBC exchanged the lead five times in the first 7 and ½ minutes before the Spartans surged with an 8-0 run. Held in check for most of the game, junior guard Tionne Taylor scored six in the 8-point swing with a triple and a successful and-one play on the Spartans' next possession.
 
Although MoBap looked to be in a position to win in regulation leading by five with 10 seconds left, CBC had other plans. The Mustangs used a timeout to advance up court after a Joelle Atkins free throw. A quick two by Alexis Augustus made it 64-61 still in favor of the Spartans. With a little under 5 seconds remaining, MBU looked to run out the clock or draw a foul, but turned the ball over and gave the Mustangs one last chance for a desperation three to send it to overtime. CBC's Grace Coates let it fly as the backboard light turned on and buzzer sounded. With no replay available, the officials deemed the basket good and overtime No. 1 was up next.
 
MBU never led during the first OT, either playing from behind or all tied up. Sophomore Lauren Ebert tying the game at 71-all had the most significance though. The 5-8 guard from St. Peters, Mo. knocked down two clutch free throws with :04 remaining to send it to a second overtime.
 
The shots weren't falling for either team in OT No. 2. In a flipped script, MBU held the slim lead and the Mustangs found themselves needing to make a pair of free throws down the stretch. Earning a trip to the line off a "flagrant" foul, CBC's Holly Allen converted on both to tie it at 75-75. Both squads had opportunities to close it out with under 10 seconds remaining and were unsuccessful.
 
With the game tied at 80-80 and 1:37 left in the third overtime, MBU buckled down on defense and yielded just one free throw to CBC. Offensively, Alexis Allstun got a big bucket down low, followed by the duo of Taylor Norris and Rose Wassef hitting on five of their last six FT attempts to seal the deal.
 
Playing the second most minutes of any Spartan (45), Alexis Allstun registered her first double-double of the year with 22 points, 14 rebounds. Taylor Norris, who was on the floor for 51 out of the 55 possible minutes, came up one assist short of another double-double (PTS-AST). She finished with 13 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds.
 
Joining Allstun and Norris in double figures were Kenzie Burt with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting and Tionne Taylor with 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
 
Other notable performances include senior Swiss Army knife Joelle Atkins, who finished with 7 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists and 1 block, and fellow senior Kim Shaw with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and a block.
 
The Spartans will look to extend their three-game winning streak to four when they visit Hannibal-LaGrange University (1-10, 0-5 AMC) on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.