by Kerry Stadler
Maryville, Mo. – The Missouri Southern women’s basketball program tied a school record with their 24th win of the regular season on Saturday inside Bearcat Arena with a 62-55 win.
The Lions (24-6, 16-6 MIAA) were led by Kryslyn Jones with a season-high 22 points going 8-for-12 from the field and 4-for-5 from three. Lacy Stokes added 22 points going 6-for-9 from the field and 10-for-14 from free throws. Mia Topping had six points to lead the bench effort.
With the win it marks the second time in program history to have 24 wins in a regular season with the first occurrence coming in the 1992-93 season.
Northwest Missouri (14-14, 9-13 MIAA) was led by Molly Hartnett with 23 points.
In the first quarter Northwest Missouri got out to an 8-2 lead early but an 8-0 response by the Lions gave the team a 10-8 lead with 3:34 remaining thanks to a Topping layup. Northwest Missouri scored once more in the quarter to tie it and a Jones three with 43 seconds left put the Lions ahead 13-10 heading to the second quarter.
A pair of Topping free throws in the first minute gave the Lions a five point lead but a 12-3 run by the Bearcats gave them a 22-18 lead with a little over three minutes left in the half. Southern would shut down the hosts in the final two minutes and a Jones pull up with 1:37 left in half was the last scoring for either team, as the Bearcats held onto a slim 24-22 lead at the half.
Southern began the second half off with a bang going on an 12-1 run with a Lacy Stokes turn around jumper at 4:11 making it a 34-27 lead. Northwest Missouri would get it to within a one possession game by the end of the quarter as the Lions had the 39-36 advantage.
The fourth quarter would see the last tie of the game, 45-45 at 7:58 following a Hartnett and-one. Southern responded with an 8-0 run and never relinquished the lead over the hosts to win 62-55 to conclude the regular season.
Southern held the advantage over the Bearcats in field goal percentage 45.5-33.9, three point percentage 45.5-26.1, free throws made 17-9, fast break points 6-0 and points off turnovers 10-7.
Up next for the Lions will be Pittsburg State in the MIAA Quarterfinals from historic Municipal Auditorium on Friday Mar. 3rd at 6:00pm.
