Leavenworth, Kan.—Ottawa seized control early and didn't let up Wednesday night, rolling to a 40-7 victory over the Spires at Berkel Memorial Stadium. The decisive stretch came across the second and third quarters, when the Braves turned a one-score game into a 33-0 advantage behind Anderson's passing and an interception by Hart.

The Spires would find themselves down quick 7-0 after Ottawa opened the scoring on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Anderson with 5:05 left in the first quarter. OU added 13 more points in the second quarter, including a 3-yard touchdown reception by Bayron with 52 seconds remaining before halftime, and took a 20-0 lead into the break.

The Spires had trouble slowing Anderson all night. Ottawa out gained Saint Mary 310-165 and averaged 6.6 yards per play while finishing with 15 first downs. Anderson completed 25 of 35 passes for five touchdowns, and she also added 33 rushing yards and a rushing score. Spielberg led the Braves receivers with nine catches for 90 yards, while Dos Santos added six receptions for 51 yards and two touchdowns.

Any hope of a Spire rally faded in the third. Quinn caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Anderson with 7:37 left in the quarter to make it 26-0. Less than two minutes later, Hart intercepted USM quarterback Kyendra Thomas and returned the ball to the Ottawa 19-yard line, setting up another short scoring drive. Ottawa capitalized at the 2:47 mark when Dos Santos caught a 2-yard touchdown pass, and Anderson added the successful rush on the 1 point conversion for a 33-0 lead.

USM broke through their scoring drought in the fourth quarter when Thomas connected with Kerisma Delgado on a 16-yard touchdown pass with 6:37 to play. Thomas accounted for much of the Spires' offense, throwing for 93 yards and a touchdown while rushing 17 times for 71 yards. Delgado finished with three catches for 47 yards and the team's lone score.

Ottawa would answer one last time to close the scoring. With 2:50 remaining, Anderson threw her fifth touchdown pass of the night, a 5-yard score that pushed the lead to 40-7 and sealed the final deficit.

The Spires will be right back at it on their home turf in Berkel Memorial this Saturday, March 28^th with a conference face off against the Southwestern Mound Builders at 1:00 p.m.