It's been a quiet campus here at Stephens College without classes or students, however, this doesn't stop the Stars from taking the court to continue their dominant season.

Their opponent, traveling from St. Louis, Missouri Baptist University walked into Silverthorne Arena with nervous laughter. Walking to their locker room, they had to pass by the rowdy and loud home lockers, where the Stars could be heard bouncing and hyped up, ready to battle. 

Stephens started the game with patience and poise, being down by only a few points at the end of the first quarter awaiting their moment to catch fire and explode in the second. The Stars outscored MBU by 9 in the 2nd quarter and took their 34-29 lead into half time. 

With a late 3rd quarter surge from Missouri Baptist and some unfortunate turnovers from Stephens, MBU was able to bring the game to 45-45 all, going into the 4th quarter. 

The game continued to go back and forth, with Zaraya March continuing to drive the paint and Marveen Ross getting into MBU heads, essentially living rent free. They both earned Stephens easy points at the stripe. Missouri Baptist University thought they could break the mentality of the Stars at the free throw line, but that was quickly hushed by the sound of a swoosh. 

With 1:20 to go in the 4th quarter and Stephens up 5, Arthel Massaquoi picked up a huge offensive rebound and got hacked while going for the put back. Going 1 of 2 from the line and putting the Stars up 6, MBU was still lingering. With 25 seconds to go, MBU was able to grab an offensive board and finger roll the ball into the hoop, bringing the game to 65-62. With 20 second to go, MBU was forced to foul Zaraya March to stop the clock. March missed the first free throw and got the second one to swish through with ease. After a 30 second timeout by MBU, they ran a quick set to get an open yet deep 3 and it was good. With Stephens up 2, they were sent to the line again, going 1 of 2, and MBU got the defensive rebound and pushed the court hard knowing with only seconds left on the clock, they needed a 3 to tie the game. The unfortunate happened and #11 from MBU was left open in the corner hitting the game tying shot. With that, we head to overtime! 

The momentum had shifted and Missouri Baptist University got hot from deep and continued to pound the paint, while the rim seemed to be getting smaller for the Stars. Stephens College, in their first overtime game of the season, fell 79-70, going 9-3 overall and 4-2 within the conference. 

Stephens College is looking for a bounce back when they play Cottey College this Saturday (January 7th) in Nevada, MO. 

Zaraya March - 18-9-3
Marveen Ross - 14-6-6
Alayasia Douglas - 14-1-2
Arthel Massaquoi - 14-2-2