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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Mitts now 2nd all-time
in wins as Lions defeat Webster Joplin, Mo. - Missouri Southern head coach Maryann Mitts won her 103rd game to move into second-place on the MSSU all-time wins list as the Lions defeated the Webster Gorloks 86-36 Wednesday night (Nov. 28) at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. The win moves the Lions to a perfect 5-0 on the season. The outcome was never in doubt as the Lions scored the first eight points of the game behind five early points from Robin Kantin (Silver Spring, Md.). MSSU later built the lead to 20 with a 15-2 run over a 5:15 span to lead 27-7 with 10:21 remaining in the first half. After Julie McGirl made a layup to bring the Gorloks to within 18, the Lions ripped off an 8-0 spurt that was capped by an Ela Zawadka (Torun, Poland) layup to lead 35-9. The Lions then out-scored Webster 11-5 over the next 4:29 as India Wood (Decatur, Ala.) converted a layup to put the Lions on top 46-14 with 1:11 left in the opening half. Southern would lead 46-16 at the half. The second half would not be any different as Kantin scored five points to lead a 9-2 Southern run after halftime that made it 55-18 in favor of the Lions with 15:47 remaining. The Lions continued to pull away as a pair of free throws by Nichole Helfrich (Beech Grove, Ind.) put MSSU up 61-21 with 12:49 left. The largest lead of the night came when Brittany Vavao-Huggins (Fayetteville, Ark.) hit a jumper with 1:57 remaining to give the Lions an 86-35 lead. It was another stellar defensive performance by the Lions, as they held the Gorloks to only 23.9 percent (11-of-46) from the field and 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from three-point distance. The Lions put together a 50.7 percent (35-of-69) shooting performance from the field. Bonner led the Lions in scoring with a career-best 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Kantin scored 11 and Fatai Hala'api'api (Maui, Hawaii) and Tynesha Pierce (Houston, Texas) each put in 10. Pierce led the Lions with nine rebounds and Helfrich scored six and grabbed eight boards. McGirl scored nine to pace the Gorloks. Michelle McQueen pulled down a team-high six rebounds for Webster. The Lions will look to make 6-0 as they will remain at home for a rematch with the St. Edward's Hilltoppers on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 1) at 1 p.m. Southern defeated the Hilltoppers in their season-opener (Nov. 16) 60-39 at the St. Edward's Shootout in Austin, Texas. |