Following a sluggish first half vs Little Priest Tribal College in Winnebago, NE, on Saturday, Nov. 25, the Spartan women's basketball team found themselves down 30-15 at the half with a lot of ground to make-up.

"We had so much to overcome in this game with several players out and only six able bodies to play, but that is not an excuse for how we performed," stated Spartan Head Coach Addae Houston. "We have to be mentally tougher in adverse situations."

The Spartans rallied during the second half and shrunk the deficit to only two points midway through the fourth quarter, trailing 50-48.

Little Priest closed on a run of their own late in the fourth quarter, however, to secure the win vs the Spartans. The final score was 61-52.

Houston was happy to see the Spartans' second-half effort, but said it was not enough.

"I was pleased to see us battle the way we did," Houston explained. "But when you expend that much energy to come back, sometimes you don't have enough to get over the hump."

High scorer for the game was T'keyah Stapleton, who finished with a team-high 22 points along with eight rebounds and two steals. Jasmine Aviles added 19 points and four rebounds.

The Spartans dropped to 3-4 on the season.

Up next the Spartan women will face North Central Missouri College on Wednesday, Nov. 29, in Trenton, MO, and Simpson JV on Friday, Dec. 1, in Indianola.