Spartans Stun Eutectics with Fourth Quarter Surge

For most of Tuesday's game in the UHSP gymnasium on Tuesday, it looked as if the Eutectic women's basketball team was poised to complete a sweep of the American Midwest Conference (AMC) home-and-home series between the two St. Louis teams. But, the Missouri Baptist University Spartans surprised the Eutectics in the fourth-quarter by outscoring the home team 26-15 to take home a narrow 77-74 victory.

Despite the loss, the Eutectics maintain their fourth-place standing in the Conference with a record of 13-11 overall and 8-6 in the AMC. With the win, the MBU team is tied for the No. 6 spot in the standings at 8-15 overall and 6-8 in the AMC.

After three straight buckets by MBU to start off the game, the Eutectics found their legs with a layup by Elizabeth Allanach to mark the board at 8:17. The UHSP team followed that up with a couple of made free throws from Payten Foster and a Samantha Matthews three to put the Euts in the lead 7-6. The Spartans charged back, but at the five-minute mark, a Grace Beyer Free throw tipped the lead in the home team's favor (11-10) and the Eutectics expanded on that as the quarter continued. Led by Matthews' perfect shooting (3-3 FG, 2-2 3PFG), by the end of 10 minutes UHSP was up 24-16.

The Spartans charged back in the second quarter, attacking the glass for offensive rebounds to score the first nine points to retake the lead at 25-24 and allow only two shots from UHSP in those first two-and-a-half minutes. A layup from Beyer sparked the Eutectic offense at 7:24 and the two teams began another battle for the lead. The score was tied at 33 apiece with three-and-a-half minutes left in the half when the Eutectic offense kicked into high gear. Layups from Beyer, Allanach, and Foster, free throws from Beyer (2) and Allanach, and a Karsyn Morgan three gave the Eutectics a 45-37 lead by intermission.  

Beyer scored 11 of UHSP's 14 points in the third quarter, going 4-for-5 from the floor and 3-3 from the line. (The remaining three came from a triple by Alivia Simily.) Meanwhile, the Eutectic defense held the Spartans to six field goals thanks, in part, to steals by Emily Coleman (2), Simily, and Allanach. By the end of the quarter, each team had scored 14 to maintain the Eutectics' eight-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes at 59-51.

Early in the fourth, a series of Spartan steals, layups, and offensive rebounds got them back within two points of the Eutectics (66-64). Triples from Allanach and Matthews pulled the home team out of a tight spot for a bit, but the Spartans were relentless on the glass, and with 1:17 left on the clock, Tyler Butler put back her own missed layup to take the first lead for the visitors since the first period at 75-74. Missed shots on the both sides followed, and the Euts were forced to foul MBU's Sophia Horton, who drained both free throws with three seconds left on the clock. The Eutectics final-second effort to tie the game was thwarted when Amar Mansour blocked the 3-point attempt by Matthews to claim the victory for MBU.

The Eutectics made 9-of-21 3-point field goals and shot at 46.2% in the game overall. But, the Spartans dominated under the basket, pulling down 41 rebounds to UHSP's 21 and earning 48 points in the paint.

Beyer led all scorers with 32 points, going 10-for-15 from the field and 12-for-12 from the free throw line. She also picked up four rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Matthews scored 15 points for the Eutectics with four coming from the arc. Allanach also reached double-digit scoring with 11 points and added five assists. Morgan (8), Foster (5 points, 5 rebounds), and Simily (3) scored the remaining UHSP points.

Tyler Butler led the Spartans with a double double: 22 points and 11 rebounds.  

The Eutectics will head to Arkansas for their next two AMC games, taking on Central Baptist College on Thursday, Feb. 15, at 5:30 p.m. and Williams Baptist University on Saturday at 1 p.m.