FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 21, 2009

Mitts moves into a tie for career wins and Lions win at Northwest, 64-47

Box Score

Maryville, Mo. - The Missouri Southern Lions gave head coach Maryann Mitts her 129th career victory, tying her for first-place with Jim Phillips on the MSSU all-time wins list by defeating the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats 64-47 Wednesday evening (Jan. 21) in Maryville, Mo. The victory is the Lions' fourth straight overall.

The Lions took control of the contest by going on a 9-0 spurt early in the second half that turned a two-point lead into an 11-point cushion at 34-23 with 14:42 left. After Myosha Barnes started the outburst with a three, Michelle Hedgecock hit back-to-back jumpers and Lindsey Davis scored to cap the run.

Meghan Brue brought the Bearcats to within 36-29 with a jumper at the 12:39 mark, but India Wood countered by hitting consecutive treys to push the lead to 42-29 with 10:40 remaining.

The Lions led 44-33 when they effectively put the game out of reach with another 9-0 run to take a comfortable 20-point lead with 7:50 to play.

A three by Wood gave the Lions their biggest lead of the night at 59-37 at the 6:13 point of the second half. The closest the Bearcats got after that was the final 17-point margin.

Barnes helped the Lions (13-4, 7-3 MIAA) get off to a quick start by scoring the game's first five points and then a jumper from Nichole Helfrich gave the Lions an early 7-0 lead.

After Brue scored the next four for the Bearcats (6-11, 2-8 MIAA), Barnes hit from long-range to put the Lions up 10-4 with 16:51 remaining in the opening half.

Helfrich scored seven straight points for the Lions over a 2:50 stretch and capped it off with a three-point play that put the Lions ahead 19-13.

The Bearcats fought back and tied the score at 19-19, but a three from Danielle DeVader quickly put the Lions back on top by with 2:55 left in the first half.

The Lions led 22-21 when Barnes converted a three-point opportunity to give the Lions a four-point advantage at the break.

Barnes led the Lions with 19 points, one shy of her career-high. Wood scored 15 and dished out a team-high six assists. Helfrich finished with 11 and Davis had a team-high seven rebounds for Southern.

Brue had a team-best 14 points for the Bearcats, while Shelly Martin added 12.

The Lions held a 39-32 overall advantage on the boards, including a 14-5 edge on the offensive glass.

Mitts can pass Phillips and become the Lions' all-time winningest coach with a victory over Truman State on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 24). Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. The Lions defeated TSU earlier this season (Dec. 3) 71-65 in Kirksville, Mo.