Marion, Indiana – After earning its first win of the young 2021-22 season last weekend, Missouri Baptist Women's Basketball again came away with a win and a loss from its third tournament in as many weeks at the Leah Whittaker Classic. The Spartans successfully navigated a barn burner of a contest with Bethel University 104-99 in the nightcap on Friday before coming up short in a grind it out game with No. 11 and tournament hosts Indiana Wesleyan, 72-62.

MoBap's offensive explosion against Bethel saw center Alexis Allstun score a new single-game career high with 30 points. Senior Murray State transfer Jalexis Russell returned from a preseason injury and was a spark off the bench, notching a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds in just 18 minutes of action. Guard Tionne Taylor was again a heavy contributor as well, scoring 25 and showing active hands on the defensive side with three steals. Junior Lauren Ebert also showed up in more than one way in the box score, blocking three shots and dishing out eight assists to lead the team in both categories. MBU had 10 players score overall, the most it has seen tally points all season.

The shootout was hotly contested from the opening tip, with the Spartans needing all its preseason conditioning work to beat Bethel's full court press, which the Pilots implemented for the whole game. MBU went into the half down 45-43 but came out of the break and scored 61 points in the second half. MoBap kept a fourth quarter Bethel charge from resulting in its second half lead slipping away, with Allstun doing the most of her damage by scoring four the last five field goals and 13 points overall in the final frame.

During day two in Luckey Arena, the Spartans were able to hang tough with a resilient Wildcats squad. MBU did not enjoy the same offensive fireworks as it did in game one, but still went into halftime of the defensive battle ahead, 27-25. After trading baskets early in the third, MoBap stretched a lead out to nine points before IWU went on an 11-0 run to regain the lead for good. The Spartans were able to hang around in the fourth, but never got it close enough to make it a game in the final minutes.

Taylor again led MBU in scoring for the fifth time this campaign, pouring in 20. Forward Joelle Atkins came off the bench and managed her way to 11 boards, five points and a pair of steals and assists.

After being on the road for three straight tournaments to start the year, Missouri Baptist will finally play at home in its next action. The Spartans will host 17th-ranked Central Methodist University on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 5:30 pm at the Carl & Deloris Petty SRC.