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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Lions
fall in overtime, 74-66 to
Northwest Missouri at MIAA Tournament Kansas City, Mo. - The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats out-scored the Missouri Southern Lions 12-4 in the overtime period to defeat the Lions 74-66 in first round MIAA Tournament action Thursday afternoon (Mar. 6) at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. The Bearcats (15-13) held the Lions scoreless for the first 3:34 of the extra session and scored the first seven points to lead 69-62 with 1:46 left. Robin Kantin split a pair of free throws to make it 69-63, but Mandi Schumacher and Jessica Burton each knocked in two free throws to seal the victory and put Northwest up 73-63 with 27 seconds remaining. Things looked good for the Lions (18-10) after Lindsay Davis scored to give the Lions a 58-51 lead with 6:06 left in the second half. But the Bearcats surged ahead with a 9-0 spurt as Jessica Burton nailed two free throws to give the Bearcats their first lead since the first half. Southern was hurt by five turnovers during the pivotal Bearcat run. The Lions trailed 60-58 when Nichole Helfrich made two at the line to tie the score at 60-60 with 1:43 left. After Schumacher split a pair at the line, Tynesha Pierce put the Lions on top with two made free throws before Schumacher split another pair for Northwest to send the game into overtime. The Lions fell behind by as many as seven in the first as a Schumacher layup gave the Bearcats a 21-14 lead with 9:58 remaining in the opening half. India Wood then hit a jumper and Danielle DeVader put in a three to bring the Lions to within 21-19. Southern ended the first half on a 22-9 run to lead 36-30 at the half. Pierce led the Lions with 14, while Wood and DeVader each scored 13. Schumacher led all scorers with 20 points and Lauren Williams put in 18. Jessica Burton also reached double-figure scoring with 12 for the Bearcats. The Lions shot a solid 51.0 percent (26-of-51) from the field and also knocked down 7-of-15 from three-point distance, but were hurt by 30 turnovers that led to 28 Bearcat points. Southern held Northwest to 40.7 percent (24-of-59) overall from the floor and 35 percent (7-of-20) from beyond the arc. The Lions will now find out Sunday night (Mar. 9) if they will qualify for the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament. Southern is currently the No. 6-ranked squad, with the top eight advancing to the Postseason Tournament.
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