ST. LOUIS - In a back and forth battle between the Spartans and AMC opponent Cottey College 40 minutes of play was not enough, and MBU prevailed in overtime with an 84-76 victory.
MoBap started the contest with some success on the offensive end as they went 3-4 from the floor, but Cottey had the same success and got up to a 14-6 lead with under four minutes left in the first quarter.
That pace stayed the same for the first as the Comets of Cottey held a 19-12 lead over the Spartans heading into the second frame.
Missouri Baptist quickly lessened Cottey's lead and took a lead of their own with a trio of triples from Nyah Ford to make it 23-20.
The Spartans upped their lead to eight points, but Cottey responded before halftime as the score was knotted at 34 apiece at the break.
Ford's three triples made her the leading scorer at this point of the game with nine points, trailed by Amar Mansour who had eight points, four rebounds, and five assists.
At halftime MBU was shooting 58.3 percent from the field after going 9-12 in the second quarter.
Neither side could gain a significant lead in the third quarter as they kept trading leads of one, two, and three points.
Deadlocked at 54, Missouri Baptist struck first in the fourth quarter with two baskets from Mansour.
The Spartans got out to a six point lead following free throws from Aliyah Williams, but Cottey would not go away.
Sophia Horton shot went 4-4 on free throws down the stretch to try to keep the Comets away, but Sarah Hunt, Cottey guard, knocked down a buzzer beater three pointer to tie the game at 74 apiece before the end of regulation.
In overtime MoBap played some tremendous defense holding Cottey to just two points while scoring 10 points on the other end.
The Spartans only made one field goal in overtime coming off a layup by Kayleigh Winch, but knocked down eight free throws to win 84-76.
Mansour, Horton, Ford, Williams, and Tyler Butler all finished with double digit points.
Mansour led the bunch with 21 points along with 12 assists for a double double, but fell three rebounds shy of the triple double.
Missouri Baptist shot over 50 percent from the field and won the paint battle outscoring Cottey 46-36.
On Tuesday the Spartans will not have to travel far as they will take on UHSP on the road at 5:30 pm.
