Southern falls 75-61 to No. 6 Emporia State

Box Score

JOPLIN, Mo. -- The No. 6-ranked Emporia State Lady Hornets used a 24-2 run during the first nine minutes of the second half to rally from a halftime deficit and defeat the Missouri Southern Lions 75-61 in the MIAA opener for both teams Saturday night (Dec. 10) at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

After falling behind 13-6 early in the first half, the Lions (6-3, 0-1 MIAA) used a 12-0 spurt and then closed the first half on an 8-0 run to lead ESU 38-31 at the half.

The Lions shot a blazing 63 percent (17-of-27) from the field in the first half in pulling out to the halftime lead, while holding the Lady Hornets (10-0, 1-0 MIAA) to a 34.5 percent (10-of-29) shooting clip in the first stanza.

However, the second half was a much different script for both squads, as the Lady Hornets picked it up and shot 50 percent (14-of-28) after haltime, while also turning up the defensive pressure and holding the Lions to only 23.1 percent (6-of-26) shooting from the field.

The Lady Hornets out-rebounded the Lions 15-0 during the game-deciding run to open the second half that turned a seven-point deficit into a 15-point cushion with 11:40 remaining in the contest. The Lions never got closer than nine from that point.

For the game, the Lady Hornets out-rebounded MSSU 41-27, with a 26-12 edge on the boards in the second half.

Southern shot 3-of-6 from three-point distance in the first half, but missed all 11 attempts from beyond the arc after halftime.

The Lions were led by senior Dacie Reutlinger (Owasso, Okla.) and junior Marina Caran (Kovin, Serbia), who scored 15 points apiece. Reutlinger also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for the Lions.

Michelle Stueve led all scorers with 24 points for the Lady Hornets, while pulling down a game-high nine rebounds.

The Lions will now take eight days off before resuming non-conference action by traveling to Goodwell, Okla. to face Panhandle State (Okla.) on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 2 p.m.