Seniors lead Lions to road victory at CMSU

Box Score

WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- Seniors Nicole Greninger (Webb City, Mo.) and Dacie Reutlinger (Owasso, Okla.) combined for 24 second-half points to lead Missouri Southern to its fifth straight victory, 64-62 over the Central Missouri State Jennies Wednesday night (Jan. 18) in Warrensburg, Mo. It marked MSSU's first win at Central Missouri State since 1996.

Southern (12-5, 4-2 MIAA) trailed 53-47 with 5:21 remaining, but outscored the Jennies 12-1 over the next three minutes to go ahead for good 59-54 with just 2:19 left, taking the lead on a three-pointer from junior Marina Caran (Kovin, Serbia) with 3:27 left. Greninger and Reutlinger combined to score seven points during this decisive Lions charge.

After Lindsey Maple hit a layup to bring the Jennies (10-6, 3-3 MIAA) to within one at 60-59 with 27 seconds left, the Lions made 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch to hang on for the victory.

The Lions fell behind 33-30 at halftime of a tight first half throughout, as sophomore Robin Kantin (Silver Spring, Md) scored 10 points in the opening half to keep Southern close.

Greninger led the Lions with 16 points, while Reutlinger and Kantin scored 15 points each. Caran dished out a game-high seven assists for Southern. Maple scored 15 points to lead for CMSU players in double-figures.

The Lions return home for a huge test against the undefeated and defending D-II National Champion Washburn Lady Blues Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. The Lions handed the Lady Blues their last loss to date, 53-50 last year in Joplin.