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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Buchanan leads
Gorillas to 77-68 win over Lions Joplin, Mo. - Brianna Buchanan scored a game-high 25 points as the Pittsburg State Gorillas defeated the Missouri Southern Lions 77-68 Saturday night (Jan. 3) at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. The Gorillas shot a red-hot 68.2 percent (15-of-22) in the opening 20 minutes and rode that to a 39-32 halftime edge. Buchanan hit a three early in the second half to stretch the advantage to 10, but a three-point play by Nichole Helfrich and a jumper from Lindsey Davis pulled the Lions to within five at 46-41 with 14:50 remaining. The Gorillas then went on a 7-2 spurt to take their largest lead of the night at 55-43 after a jumper by Caitlin Demarest at the 10:51 mark. PSU continued to lead by 12 with 7:38 left when Danielle DeVader hit a pair of treys to spark a 9-2 run that brought the Lions to within 62-57 with 3:28 left in the contest. That's as close as the Lions could get though as a jumper by Nicole McCombs and five free throws gave the Gorillas a 12-point lead again at 69-57 with just 1:10 left. The game was close in the opening minutes of play as the Gorillas led 15-9 when the Lions scored seven straight on five points from Randi Henderson and a three by Jolea Apon to lead 17-15 with 11:09 left in the first half. The Gorillas led 27-24 when consecutive threes by Bailey Waugh put the Gorillas up 33-24 at the 2:32 mark of the opening half. India Wood led the Lions (9-3, 3-2 MIAA) with 13 points and seven assists. Hedgecock scored 11 on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. Buchanan scored her 25 on 8-of-11 from the floor. McCombs finished with 15 and hit 6-of-7 shots. DePrice Taylor and Bailey Waugh each scored 12 for PSU (9-3, 5-1 MIAA). The Lions shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55) from the field overall. After the blazing first half, the Lions held the Gorillas to 40 percent (10-of-25)from the field in the second half. Next up for the Lions is a meeting at current No. 9-ranked Emporia State on Wednesday night (Jan. 7) at 5:30 p.m. |