Lady Eagles Race Past Missouri Baptist

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. (1/25/24) - Fueled by four players in double figures, the Williams Baptist University women's basketball team defeated Missouri Baptist 80-65 in an American Midwest Conference matchup at the Southerland Mabee Center Thursday night. 

Charmen Taylor led the way with her sixth double-double of the season with a 19-point, 10 rebound performance. She also added five assists and three steals to fill out the box score.

Kaylee Clark led all scores with 23 points, while Carmen Taylor had 16 points, six rebounds and three streaks. Taylor Hooten also turned in a strong night with 14 points, seven assists and four steals, while Sara Crowe had five blocks. 

Williams raced out to a 25-12 lead after the first quarter behind a hot shooting hand from the field. The squad shot 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from the floor in the opening 10 minutes, while holding the Spartans to just 28.6 percent (6-of-21). 

Missouri Baptist made a run at the Eagles in the third quarter and got the deficit to single digits at 55-47 with 2:34 left in the period. The Spartans continued to put pressure on WBU and closed to within 57-51 at the start of the fourth quarter, but Hooten responded with a 3-pointer to push the advantage back to nine. 

Both traded baskets throughout much of the middle part of the period, with Williams maintaining its double-digit edge. Clark helped put the game away with a 3-pointer to go up 74-63 with 3:33 remaining as the Spartans would never get within single digits after that point.

With the victory WBU improved to 13-4 and 6-2 in the AMC, while the Spartans fell to 5-11 and 3-4 in the league. The win also helped Williams maintain its hold on third place in the conference standings.

Williams returns to action Saturday, Jan. 27 against Williams Woods at the SMC. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.