by Joel Devick
ST. LOUIS – MBU women’s basketball showed no signs of slowing down Thursday night. The Spartans took it to Harris-Stowe State (HSSU) in a well-rounded scoring display that pushed MBU to a fifth-straight victory and third in a row against the Hornets at the Emerson Performance Center.
Missouri Baptist (12-3, 8-1 in AMC) put together an extremely efficient game of shooting to down Harris-Stowe (1-8, 2-12 in AMC) by a score of 84-50. MoBap battled through in a physical contest that saw a bevy of fouls and a brute style of play come to fruition. The Spartans capitalized on its opportunities, shooting 32-of-59 (54.2 percent) and needed only one 3-pointer from Rice as they made 19-of-20 (95.0 percent) trips to the free throw line count, the best percentage all year in any game for MBU.
Graduate senior Kasey Rice spearheaded the attack which had a 26-point lead at halftime, of which Rice contributed 17 points to helping achieve. The Spartans continued the onslaught in the second half, leading by as much as 40 before settling for the 34-point advantage at the final buzzer.
The win, coupled with University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy’s blowout of Columbia College across town, gave the Spartans sole possession of first in the conference standings. MoBap are a game away from being halfway through its conference slate with sights set on earning the end of season No. 1-seed in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) women’s basketball championship.
“We played disciplined basketball and rebounded great,” head coach Sam Pearson said. “Great team effort top to bottom. Our tempo wore them throughout the game and we pulled away late. Kasey Rice paced us and played great ball.”
Other notable performances for MBU came by way of Tionne Taylor (18 points, 5 steals, 4 rebounds), Aliyah Williams (8 points, 2 rebounds), and Nyah Ford (7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists).
