The Southwestern Women's Basketball Team had two tough non-conference games on December 9 and 11. In a push to defend the home-court, the Spartans were able to best Marshalltown and fall to Kansas City Kansas. 

In a dominating 81-68 win over Marshalltown, the Spartans did a lot of things well. Head Coach, Bryan Austin, was especially thrilled with the performance in the fourth quarter, "We locked down on defense in the fourth quarter and made free throws down the stretch when it mattered."

The Spartans shot well from the floor all night, shooting over 56% from the floor. Freshman from Creston, Iowa, Brielle Baker, led the way for Southwestern with 20 points. Right behind in scoring was Simone Jordan with 15 and Kaylynn Tucker with 12 points and 5 assists to match. Coach Austin was impressed with Marshalltown, "Marshalltown did a great job at being aggressive and attacking the basket. It was a back and fourth game in the third quarter with Marshalltown hitting four 3s in the quarter keeping the game close."

There was a slightly different story when the #3-ranked Blue Devils from Kansas City Kansas came to town on Wednesday night.

The Spartans failed to gain any momentum, being down 13 after the first quarter and losing by 30. "KCK came out the gates fast and we came out very slow. They hit three 3's to start out the game and got a 12-point lead and never looked back. We didn't do a good job starting out strong. If we would've started stronger it possibly could've been a better outcome," says Coach Austin on the performance.

Southwestern was led again in scoring by Baker and Jordan. A double-double by Sophomore from Bancroft, Iowa, Samantha Hagedorn, was the highlight for the Spartans earning 13 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.