The normally-stingy Bee defense had problems getting stops in the second half of an 86-75 loss at Missouri Baptist Saturday afternoon.

After holding the Spartans to just 33 percent shooting in the first half, the Bees surrendered 61 points on nearly 64-percent shooting after halftime.

It was the first loss of the year for St. Ambrose.

SAU (3-1) led by as many as 14 points on an Avari Everts' 3-pointer with just over two minutes remaining in the first half. But in a sign of things to come, the Spartans hit four of their next five shots to close the half on a 10-run to close to within 29-25 at the break.

A Madeline Prestegaard free throw kept the lead at 11 at 47-36 midway through the third quarter. But MBU again closed a quarter strong, ultimately tying the game at 54-54 on a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the period.

Missouri Baptist (4-0) opened the fourth with a three and would never trail again. The Spartans made 10-of-14 shots from the field in the final quarter to hold the Bees at bay.

The loss spoiled a 23-point, 12-rebound performance from Kylie Wroblewski. Prestegaard scored 20 points to go along with nine boards. Anna Plumer netted 13 points and Maddy Cash scored nine. Plumer and Cash also shared team-high honors with four assists apiece.

SAU shot just 38.6 percent as a team while MBU finished at 48.5 percent for the game.

The Bees return home to host No. 16 St. Francis (Ill.) next Saturday at 1 p.m.