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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Pierce leads Southern to big win over
Gorillas; Lions clinch spot in MIAA Tournament Joplin, Mo. - Tynesha Pierce (Houston, Texas) scored 18 first half points as the Missouri Southern Lions opened the game on a 19-4 run and never looked back in a 76-57 win over the Pittsburg State Gorillas Wednesday night (Feb. 21) at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. The win puts the Lions in the MIAA Postseason Tournament for the seventh straight season, including the past six years under head coach Maryann Mitts. It didn't take long for Pierce to get going as she scored 10 of the Lions' first 14 points in the first half. With the Lions ahead 21-6, Pierce kept the pressure on by scoring six straight points to put Southern in front 27-6 with 8:34 left in the first half. Ela Zawadka (Torun, Poland) also keyed the first half explosion for the Lions by hitting a pair of three-pointers, including a trey that pulled the Lions to their biggest lead of the first half at 41-12 with 2:18 left. Karina Kuczynski (East Troy, Wis.) capped the opening half by driving the lane and hitting a layup with five seconds left to give the Lions a 45-19 advantage at the half. The Lions' biggest lead of of the night came at the 17:44 mark of the second half when Robin Kantin (Silver Spring, Md.) converted a three-point play to make it 52-21 Lions. The Gorillas tried to make things interesting in the second half with a 15-4 run that cut a 26 point Lions lead down to 64-49 on a pair of free throws from Nikki Pierce with 4:52 left. But the Lions effectively put it away as Danielle DeVader (Holton, Kan.) hit two free throws and Kuczynski nailed a jumper with 3:48 remaining that put the Lions up 68-49. Pierce wound up with a game-high 24 points and 13 rebounds for Southern. Kuczynski also reached double-figures with 13. Candice Gilbert led the Gorillas with 17, while Marissa Poppe added 13. The Lions enjoyed a huge advantage on the interior against PSU. Southern out-scored PSU 32-20 in the paint and out-rebounded the Gorillas 47-30. Southern shot 44.6 percent (25-of-56) from the field, including a blazing 58.1 percent (18-of-31) in the first half. PSU shot 30.5 percent (18-of-59) from the floor and only 1-of-14 (7.1 percent) from three-point distance. The Lions will wrap up the regular season by hosting the MIAA regular season champions and No. 2-ranked Missouri Western on Saturday (Feb. 24). The Griffons clinched the conference championship with a win over Northwest Missouri State on Wednesday. Tip-off against Western is set for 5:30 p.m. With a win over the second-ranked Griffons, the Lions retain the possibility of finishing as high as fifth in the MIAA if Central Missouri and Southwest Baptist both lose on Saturday.
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