Bolivar, Mo. - The Bearcats downed the Cardinals Saturday afternoon, picking up their first victory of the season. SBU's 18 free throws helped them to a 66-60 win, improving them to 1-7 (1-7 GLVC) on the year.

The game began with a three-point play completed by Sydney Bandy. Brylee Graddy and Kyleigh Vaught followed with traditional three-pointers to give SBU an early 9-6 lead. Later in the quarter, Nyah Pettus was fouled after making a jumper, allowing her to complete the and one play. Rachel Tippens found Sydney Bandy for the last points of the quarter, taking a 20-13 lead into the second.Bandy hit a three-pointer with 7:03 on the clock, making the score 25-22 where it would remain for several minutes. The Cardinals evened the score with 15 seconds left in the half, but Rachel Tippens drew a foul just before the break and made two free throws. SBU was able to take a 35-33 lead into halftime.

William Jewell took the lead early in the third, but Southwest Baptist kept fighting. The Bearcats got down 37-39 when Sydney Bandy nailed two three-pointers in a row to regain a 43-41 lead. The teams scored the same amount of points in the third, giving SBU a slight edge heading into the final quarter. Rachel Tippens opened the fourth with a jumper, followed by a Mary Rose Foster three. With 4:05 to go, Regan Tibbits gave SBU their biggest lead of the day at 60-53, but William Jewell trimmed that deficit back down to two. Kyleigh Vaught scored the game's final four points, making a jumper and two free throws to end the game in a 66-60 final.

Sydney Bandy led the team in scoring, going 5-8 from the field for 16 points, adding 7 rebounds to her stat line. Rachel Tippens also snagged 7 rebounds in the win, scoring 12 points and dishing 3 assists. Kyleigh Vaught reached double digits as well, scoring 13 points.

The Bearcats will hit the road for a make up game against Missouri-St. Louis on Tuesday. That game will tip off at 1 PM in St. Louis, MO.