ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Baptist University women's basketball team stays home this week for a pair of Heart of America Athletic Conference matchups, beginning Wednesday night against Missouri Valley College before closing the week Saturday with Senior Day against Graceland University at the Carl and Deloris Petty SRC.

The Spartans look to protect their home floor as they enter a stretch that will play a big role in the postseason. Missouri Baptist has leaned on aggressive scoring from Mariana Cubero and strong defensive efforts from Riley Jansen throughout the season, particularly at home.

Post-season standings will look a little different this year. This season, the Heart of America Athletic Conference is using a Point Rating System, or PRS, to help determine postseason qualification. The eight teams with the highest PRS at the end of the regular season will qualify for the conference postseason tournament. In the event of a tie in PRS, the conference's existing tiebreaker procedures will be applied.
 
The first PRS standings were released on February 1, with updates calculated after each regular night of league play. It's important to note that the regular-season conference champion and the first automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament are still awarded to the team with the best overall conference record. Points are awarded for each conference contest played, based on the opponent's winning percentage and game location.  See the bottom of this article for the point system.

Missouri Baptist opens the week on Wednesday against Missouri Valley, a familiar conference opponent. The Vikings enter the week at 11-5 in conference, with one loss to the Spartans last month. Missouri Valley brings a physical style of play, while the Spartans will look to control tempo and capitalize on transition opportunities.

The week wraps up Saturday afternoon with Senior Day against Graceland. Before tipoff, Missouri Baptist will recognize six seniors for their contributions to the program. The Spartans will aim to make the day memorable with a strong performance against the Yellowjackets, using home-court energy and disciplined execution on both ends of the floor. Graceland enters at 3-13 in conference.
Tipoff Wednesday is set for 5:30 p.m., and Saturday's ceremonies will begin at noon. The Spartans will look to make the most of a pivotal home week.
Post Season Point System
Wins:

• 7 points – win over a .750 or better team on the road
• 6.5 points – win over a .750 or better team at home
• 6 points – win over a .500 or better team on the road
• 5 points – win over a .500 or better team at home
• 4.5 points – win over a .250 or better team on the road
• 4 points – win over a .250 or better team at home
• 3.5 points – win over an under .250 team on the road
• 3 points – win over an under .250 team at home

Losses:

• 2.5 points – loss at home or on the road to a .750 or better team
• 2 points – loss to a .500 or better team at home or on the road
• 1 point – loss to a .250 or better team at home or on the road
• 0.5 points – loss to an under .250 team on the road
• 0 points – loss to an under .250 team at home