#MustangsWin! CBC Overcomes 14-Point 4th Quarter Deficit To Defeat Missouri Baptist!

Erik Holth, CBC Sports Information Director

            Creve Coeur, Mo. – Looking to bounce back after a tough loss on Thursday night, Central Baptist College women's basketball took on the Spartans of Missouri Baptist this afternoon at the Petty Student Resources Center. CBC (4-4, 2-2 AMC) overcame a 14-point fourth quarter deficit and defeated MBU (1-7, 1-3 AMC) 82-74 in overtime.

            "I couldn't be any prouder of the girls and how hard they fought for each other," said head coach Kory Heffentrager. "This is a team that is willing to do whatever it takes to win & today, they did just that. We had seniors helping to lead the underclassmen and underclassmen who stepped up and played like they had multiple years of experience under their belt. Today was the definition of a true team win!"

            Riley Whittington led the way for the Mustangs with 27 points including 23 in the second half and overtime to pilot the Mustangs. "She's not your typical freshman," added Heffentrager. "We ask a lot out of her and she has never once backed down to the challenge. On defense, she had to guard their leading scorer and on offense she had to run the show. All while playing 45 minutes. She gave us the momentum we needed to win today!" Joining Whittington in double figures were Raigan Head, who posted her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Lydia York added 12 off the bench, Addison Hudspeth chipped in with 11 and Aliya Grotjohn finished with 10.

GAME FLOW

            Missouri Baptist led 15-14 after one, 38-28 at halftime and 55-41 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, MBU made it a 16 point lead early before the Lady Mustangs started to chip away. The Lady Mustangs finally got the deficit to single digits with 6:09 left thanks to a pair of free throws by Whittington and the scoring run continued 30 seconds later with two more free throws, this time by Rhys Anderson. Another free throw by Grotjohn made the deficit 62-56 before a three stretched it back to nine with 3:20 to play. Whittington canned a three on the ensuing possession to cut the deficit back to six with 3:06 left. A layup by Whittington with 2:13 left cut the deficit to 65-61 before a free throw by Grotjohn put CBC within striking distance. A Whittington layup with 23 seconds left made it 65-64 before a made layup by Hudspeth with two seconds left gave CBC a 66-65 lead, their first lead since the second quarter. A foul and a free throw with 1.1 seconds left tied the game at 66 and set it into overtime.

            Grotjohn opened the scoring in overtime with a layup to put CBC back in front before a three from MBU made it 69-68. A layup by Whittington returned the Lady Mustangs to the lead at 70-69 before the teams would trade free throws to make it 71-71 with 2:44 left. A Whittington layup with 2:33 left put CBC back in front and opened a game ending 9-3 run to put CBC back in the win column.

UP NEXT

            CBC returns home for the final time in the 2024 calendar year on Thursday when they host new AMC rival Mission University. Tip-off from Reddin Fieldhouse is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.