|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Lions use big
performance from charity stripe to knock off No. 16-ranked Emporia State Joplin, Mo. -- The Missouri Southern Lions converted 34-of-38 free throws that led to a convincing, 90-71 victory over the No. 16-ranked Emporia State Lady Hornets Wednesday night (Jan. 23) at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. India Wood continued her stellar play in the MIAA with a career-high 24 points on 8-of-11 from the field. She also made all six of her free-throw attempts and both of her tries from three-point distance. Wood has been the Lions leading scorer in three of their four conference victories this season. The Lions (13-3, 4-3 MIAA) were led at the stripe by Danielle DeVader, who was a perfect 10-of-10 at the line to account for all of her points. The closest ESU came was in the second half was three as Michelle Stueve converted a three-point play that made it 48-45 Lions with 15:05 remaining. Wood and Tynesha Pierce then combined for nine points to lead an 11-2 run that gave the Lions a double-digit lead at 59-47. The Lions maintained at least an eight-point advantage from that point and made 12 free throws over the final 2:09 to pull away for the big win. After Stueve hit a three to put the Lady Hornets up 5-2 in the early minutes, the Lions went on a 19-2 burst and led 21-7 after Wood made a layup with 13:49 left in the opening half. The Lions built the lead to 17 at 27-10 before Stueve hit a trey to cap an 11-2 Lady Hornet spurt with 8:34 left in the opening stanza that brought ESU to within eight. MSSU went on to lead 43-35 at the half. Pierce scored 22 for Southern and recorded a team-high eight rebounds. Pierce also converted eight of her nine free-throw attempts and was a force on the defensive end with three blocks and three steals. Fatai Hala'Api'Api added 13 and made 5-of-6 from the foul line. Stueve led the Lady Hornets (11-5, 4-3 MIAA) with 21 but was held to only 6-of-20 from the field. Cassondra Boston tallied 15 and Andrea Leiker added 14. A big key to the Lions' victory was their defensive intensity in the second half. After ESU shot 50 percent (13-of-26) in the first half, the Lions held them to only 35.3 percent (12-of-34) from the field in the second. The Lions will now start a two-game road trip by playing at Fort Hays State on Saturday (Jan. 26) at 3 p.m. The two schools split the season series last year, with the road team winning each contest.
.
|