After a solid first quarter, only trailing by four points, 19-15, the Spartans were unable to close the gap on North Central Missouri College on Tuesday, Nov. 21, on their home court.

At halftime, the Spartans were down nine points, 37-28, but then allowed a 7-2 run by North Central to start the third quarter. That stretched North Central's lead to 44-30.

Unfortunately, Spartan Head Coach Addae Houston felt the Spartans' defense was an asset to North Central's offense during the game.

"North Central is a tough team, but we did not execute well on the defensive side of the ball to slow down their offense," stated Houston. "Consistency is the key for us on defense and we only played in spurts tonight."

A few Spartans stood out statistically by the end of the game. Tina Lair Van-Meter recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Jasmine Aviles added 12 points, while Vanessa Romo scored 10 points, along with four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

North Central held on to win 71-55 despite an early surge in the fourth quarter by the Spartans.

The Spartans fall to 3-3 on the season. They will face North Central again on Wednesday, Nov. 29, in Trenton, MO, for their final meeting of the season.