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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 23 Lions fall
54-44 to Pittsburg State Joplin, Mo. - The No. 23-ranked Missouri Southern Lions lost for the first time in five outings to the Pittsburg State Gorillas, 54-44 Wednesday night (Jan. 9) at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. The Lions (9-3, 0-3 MIAA) grabbed the lead in the second half with a 9-0 run sparked by a three-point play by Nichole Helfrich to lead 32-31 with 14:33 left. But the Gorillas (8-4, 2-1 MIAA) answered with a 9-0 run of their own to regain the lead for good at 40-32 with 11:02 remaining in the game. MSSU fell behind by as many as 12 on two occasions, but fought back to within eight on a three-pointer from Danielle DeVader that made it 52-44 with 1:03 left. But that was as close as the Lions could get DePrice Taylor clinched the win by hitting a pair of free throws with 27 seconds left. The opening minutes of the game started out great for the Lions as they jumped out early on PSU by scoring the first six points of the game that included four quick points from India Wood. The Lions continued the early surge as consecutive layups from Fatai Hala'Api'Api and Wood gave MSSU a 10-2 lead with 14:28 remaining in the first half. The quick start was keyed by the Lions forcing the Gorillas to miss nine of their first 10 shot-attempts. Pitt State (8-4, 2-1 MIAA) carried the momentum into the locker room by out-scoring the Lions 7-0 to end the first half that was capped by a layup by Taylor with 17 seconds left in the half. Wood led the Lions with 13 points and Fatai scored nine with a team-high seven rebounds. Brianna Buchanan recorded a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds for PSU. Samantha Troutman pulled down a game-high 15 boards. It was a tough night for both squads offensively, as the Lions shot 26.7 percent (16-of-60) and the Gorillas were 17-of-59 (28.8 percent) from the field. The Lions were hurt on the boards, with the Gorillas holding a 55-41 edge on the glass. Next up for Southern is a matchup at Central Missouri on Saturday (Jan. 12). Game-time is 1:30 p.m. in Warrensburg, Mo. The Lions split the season series last year with the Jennies, with each squad winning on its home floor.
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