ST. LOUIS - Missouri Baptist took a short trip down the interstate to take on city and conference foe Harris-Stowe, and the two played a tightly contested game that ended with the Spartans ahead on the scoreboard, 58-51.

Missouri Baptist and Harris-Stowe went back-and-forth in the early portions of the AMC clash, but the Spartans were able to pull away by a short margin, winning the first frame 18-12.

The two continued their close knitted battle, but the Spartans were not giving up their lead as they went into the break up 30-25. Audrey Payne put the basket in the hoop for MBU in the second frame, posting eight points and playing all 10 minutes.

The Hornets won the second quarter by one point, but the Spartans were able to take the other three by a small margin on their way to a seven point victory. Following the break, the Spartans were able to extend their lead to 13 points, but the Hornets fought back to only trail by six points heading into the final frame.

Missouri Baptist was able to keep Harris-Stowe at an arm's length throughout the last 10 minutes as the Hornets only got within two points of the Sparans once.

Kayleigh Winch helped lead MBU to a 28-20 paint battle victory with her 14 points. The Spartans' bench also played a huge role in the victory, tallying 19 points, led by Payne and Aliyah Williams with nine and eight, respectively.

The Spartans shot 42 percent from the field in the win against the Hornets.

Spartan Stat Leaders

Points: Winch (14)

Rebounds: Mariana Cubero (12)

Records

Missouri Baptist: 7-17 (7-11 AMC)

Harris-Stowe: 6-17 (5-13 AMC)

Next Game

Missouri Baptist will return to the Petty SRC on Thursday night for another AMC contest against Crowley's Ridge at 5:30 p.m. when they will look to win the season series against the Pioneers.