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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Lions rally in second
half for 75-69 win over Missouri S&T Joplin, Mo.. - The Missouri Southern Lions trailed by eight points midway through the second half but went on a 14-5 run and rallied for a 75-69 win over the Missouri S&T Lady Miners in the final day of the Fairfield Inn/Pizza Hut Thanksgiving Classic Saturday afternoon (Nov. 29) at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. Danielle DeVader hit two of her four threes to spark the nine-point run that gave the Lions a 57-56 lead with 5:28 remaining left in the game. That spurt sparked a back-and-forth affair that saw the lead change hands eight times over the next three minutes until DeVader put the Lions in front to stay with a three with 2:34 remaining. After a layup from Myosha Barnes gave the Lions (5-0) some extra breathing room at 71-67, the Lady Miners (3-2) hung around as Tamara McCaskill twice split a pair of free throws to make it a 2-point game with 36 seconds left. India Wood proceeded to nail two crucial free throws to give the Lions a four-point lead again with 32 seconds left and the Lions held MST scoreless the rest of the way. The opening half featured spurts from both squads as the Lions out-scored the Lady Miners 11-3 over a three-minute stretch to take an eight-point lead at 18-10 with exactly eight minutes left in the first. MST responded as Lauren Dubbert scored 10 points to lead a 19-5 run that put the Lady Miners up 29-23 with 1:42 remaining in the opening half. Jolea Apon then hit a trey that brought the Lions to within 29-26 at the half. Barnes led the Lions with 18 points on 8-of-9 from the field. DeVader scored 17 and also led the Lions with 10 rebounds. Hedgecock added 14 while Wood had 13 points and a team-high six assists. McCaskill had a team-high 18 for the Lady Miners, while Dubbert tallied 14 and hit 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. The Lions were able to rally behind a strong shooting performance in the second half. The Lions shot 64.0 percent (16-of-25) overall and 5-of-9 from beyond the arc after halftime. The Lions will now prepare for their MIAA opener in Kirksville, Mo. against the Truman Bulldogs on Wednesday evening (Dec. 3) at 5:30 p.m. The Lions split the season series with Truman last year, with each squad winning at home.
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