ST. LOUIS – Taking on a ranked opponent for the second game in a row, the Missouri Baptist women's basketball team once again found itself on the cusp of defeating one of the top teams in the AMC and country, but couldn't quite close it out. No. 23 Lyon College escaped with an 82-69 win Saturday afternoon by outscoring the Spartans 27-18 in the fourth quarter.
 
Missouri Baptist has now dropped four straight games after beginning the season 4-0 and recording its best start to a season since 2005-06. The 23^rd-ranked Scots, which didn't compete in the fall, improved to 2-0 overall and 2-0 in the AMC.
 
The game was filled with twists and turns and big runs by each squad. At one point in the first quarter, Lyon had relied solely on free throws and 3-pointers. In fact, the Scots first field goal from inside the arc came with 48 seconds left in the quarter. Aiding Lyon's 21-16 lead after one was 10 MBU fouls and 7 trips to the free-throw line. The Scots turned the freebies into 8 points.
 
Despite an 8-0 run for Lyon at the start of the second, MoBap wasn't fazed and answered with a 15-2 run of its own. The stretch that gave the Spartans a short-lived 34-31 advantage was fueled by 7 points from Kenzie Burt, threes from Rose Wassef and Lauren Ebert and a two from Taylor Norris.
 
Lyon returned the favor in the form of an 8-0 run and held the Spartans scoreless in the last 3 minutes of the half to go up 39-34 at the break.
 
The Spartans battled shot for shot from 3-point range with the Scots in the first half as each team knocked down seven triples on 11 attempts, good for a 63.6% clip from downtown.
 
Following halftime, Lyon extended its lead to as much as 12 before it was MBU's turn to surge. The Spartans battled back and trailed by just four heading into the final period.
 
Senior post player Joelle Atkins joined the 3-point party to start the fourth quarter with her first career 3-point attempt and make. Kim Shaw then took it coast-to-coast to give the Spartans a 56-55 lead, however, the next two possessions, Lyon was back at it with back-to-back threes by Mari-Hannah Newsom.
 
The 23^rd-ranked Scots kept their foot on the gas and converted 10-out-11 free throws in the final period to fend off the Spartans, who were hungry for a Top-25 win.
 
Lyon ended the game with four players in double figures and two with 20+ points. Jade Giron, who was fresh off a 33-point performance at Hannibal-LaGrange, played all 40 minutes against the Spartans and finished with a game-high 24 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks. Mari-Hanna Newsom hit five treys to finish with 21 points for the Scots.
 
Sophomore Lauren Ebert led the Spartans in scoring for the first time this season, finishing with a stat line of 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Joining her in double digits was Tionne Taylor with 11 points, 4 rebounds and a team-high 2 steals.
 
The Spartans had four others with 8 or more points including Taylor Norris (9), Kenzie Burt (9), Kim Shaw (8) and Rose Wassef (9), who hit a team-best three triples on the afternoon.
 
Up next for the Spartans will be another tough test when it travels to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas on Tuesday (Jan. 12) to take on Williams Baptist University (5-2, 2-0 AMC), a team that was picked third in the AMC Preseason Coaches' Poll.