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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Lions fall 71-55 at Truman Kirksville, Mo. - The Truman Bulldogs used a strong offensive performance in the first half and followed it up with a great defensive effort in the second and handed the Missouri Southern Lions their sixth straight defeat, 71-55 Saturday afternoon (Jan. 27) in Kirksville, Mo. The six-game skid is the first in Lions' head coach Maryann Mitts' five plus seasons at Southern. Truman maintained the lead throughout and gradually pulled away in building an 11-point lead with a 17-8 run and led 35-24 with 3:15 left in the opening half. The run featured five points each from Candace McGee and Katie Fowler. The Lions (10-8, 3-7 MIAA) were able to close the deficit down to six as Danielle DeVader (Holton, Kan.) scored eight in the final three minutes of the half and capped it off by hitting a jumper with six seconds left to pull the Lions to within 41-35 at the half. After a slow start offensively, the Bulldogs went into the locker room hitting 10 of their last 11 shots of the first half and hit 15-of-29 (51.7 percent ) overall in the opening stanza. Southern shot 42.9 percent (12-of-28) in the opening half, but only 2-of-8 from three-point range, both made by DeVader. The Lions came out in the second half and twice were able to come within four points, the last being at the 15:50 mark when a jumper from Tynesha Pierce (Houston, Texas) made the score 45-41 in favor of Truman. But the Bulldogs ripped off a 9-0 run that gave them their largest advantage of the game at 54-41 with 10:44 remaining. After an India Wood (Decatur, Ala.) jumper pulled the Lions within 11, Truman responded as a McGee three-pointer capped a 7-0 Truman spurt that gave the Bulldogs a 61-43 advantage with 8:34 left in the contest. The Lions failed to come closer than 13 from that point. Dana-Mae Robbs led the Lions in scoring for the third straight contest after returning from a broken hand by scoring 14. Pierce scored nine and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. DeVader wound up with 12 points and five boards. Fowler hit 7-of-10 shots from the field to lead the Bulldogs with 16, while McGee tallied 14. Truman's leading scorer and rebounder Georgia Mueller finished with 12 points and a team-leading nine rebounds. The Lions cooled off to a 31.0 percent (9-of-29) shooting clip in the second half and shot 36.8 percent (21-of-57) overall. After the hot-shooting first half, Truman dropped to 35.7 percent (10-of-28) in the second stanza and 43.9 percent (25-of-57) for the game. The rebounds were even at 37-37, with the Lions leading the way on the offensive glass 14-11, while the Bulldogs had a 26-23 edge in defensive rebounds. The loss puts the Lions and Bulldogs in a tie for the eighth and final spot in the MIAA Postseason Tournament with identical 3-7 conference records. Next up the Lions will remain on the road and will play two games in three days, beginning with a 5:30 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 1) contest at No. 2-ranked Washburn. After that, Southern will play Saturday (Feb. 3) at Fort Hays State in Hays, Kan at 1 p.m.
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