The Spartan women's basketball team traveled to North Central Missouri College in Trenton, MO, on Nov. 29, 2017, to take on the Pirates on their home court. North Central took an early 7-2 lead and kept command for the entire game.

"Despite the slow start, I thought we were playing well at the beginning of the game," stated Southwestern Head Coach Addae Houston. "The lead came mostly from sending them to the free throw line, and unfortunately things went downhill from there."

At the end of the first quarter, Southwestern found itself on the bottom with a score of 11-23.

Houston gave North Central credit, but felt his Spartans could have done more.

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

At the end of the night, North Central defeated Southwestern 76-42.

T'Keyah Stapleton, sophomore of Omaha, NE, was the only Spartan to reach double-digit scoring, with 17 points. She added three rebounds and two steals.

The Spartans are now 3-5 on the season. Up next, Southwestern faces Simpson JV, on Friday, Dec. 1, in Indianola at 7 p.m., and again next week on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 6 p.m. in Creston.