Lions pull away for Senior Day win, 70-56

Box Score


JOPLIN, Mo. -- Missouri Southern celebrated Senior Day by outscoring Truman 12-2 over the final three minutes to break open a close game and win its second straight, 70-56, over TSU Saturday (Feb. 18) at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

Junior G Marina Caran followed up her career-high 21 points last Wednesday with a game-high 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field. She hit 3-of-8 from three-point range and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.

After leading 24-19 at halftime, the Lions (16-10, 8-7 MIAA) came out strong in the second half and went up by double-digits after senior G Nicole Greninger hit a three with 15:55 remaining that put Southern up 36-25.  

The Lions continued to expand the lead and went up by their biggest margin of the game at 16 when freshman G/F Nacy Thornsberry nailed a trey that gave the Lions a 44-28 lead with 12:59 remaining.  

Truman (11-14, 2-12 MIAA) slowly chipped away at the deficit and got the Lions lead under 10 on a layup from Katie Fowler that got the Bulldogs to within 49-40 with 8:28 left.

After two free throws from senior F Dacie Reutlinger and a layup from sophomore G Robin Kantin pushed the Lions lead back to 13, Truman went on a 9-0 spurt to get within four points at 53-49.  

The Bulldogs run featured five made free throws from Natalie Schupbach, including three straight after Schupbach was fouled on a three-point attempt.

With Southern up 55-51 with 4:35 left, Caran hit a three that was immediately answered by a trey from Fowler that once again pulled Truman to within four at 58-54 with 3:29 left.  

From that point, the Lions defense stiffened and led the way for their game-ending surge. Southern held Truman scoreless until Jennifer Franklin hit a layup with just 20 seconds remaining.

Playing in the final home game of their career, Reutlinger and Greninger each reached double-figures for the Lions. Reutlinger finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Greninger had 12 points and hit 4-of-9 from long distance.

Kantin added 13 points and equaled Reutlinger for team-high honors with eight boards.

Schupbach scored 11 for Truman and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, with Fowler and Georgia Mueller scoring 13 and 12 points.