Baker’s dozen: Hawks run win streak to 13 straight by dominating fourth quarter against Tritons

ST. LOUIS — Over the final four minutes of the third quarter Thursday night, the Quincy University women’s basketball team could see the game and the win streak heading in the same direction.

The wrong direction.

The Hawks were outscored by Missouri-St. Louis 11-4 in that stretch with the Tritons’ Anna Riera scoring just before the buzzer for a 48-41 lead in the Mark Twain Building. Then came the fourth quarter and everything changed.

Karsyn Stratton and Nicole McDermott made back-to-back field goals and McDermott followed with a 3-pointer, erasing the deficit in less than two minutes and sparking a 23-point outburst that led to 64-58 victory for the Hawks in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.

It kept the win streak alive, too, as it has now reached 13 consecutive games. The Hawks also find themselves on the precipice of a 20-win season, which would be the first time since they finished 25-6 in the 2015-16 season.

The Hawks (19-5, 13-2 GLVC) took the lead in the fourth quarter on a Stratton jumper and held the Tritons scoreless the first four minutes of the final frame. They answered Kate Rolfes’ 3-pointer with eight straight points to build a 60-51 advantage with three minutes to play and made 4 of 6 free throws down the stretch to close it out.

McDermott led the Hawks with 17 points, while Stratton and Chomp Danso had 10 apiece. The Hawks won despite shooting 39.1 percent from the floor and 21.4 percent from 3-point range and dishing out just five assists.

Quincy will look to keep the win streak going at 1 p.m. Saturday against Lincoln in Jefferson City, Mo.