by Kerry Stadler
Kansas City, Mo. – The Missouri Southern women’s basketball claimed their third MIAA Tournament Championship in program history beating #10 Central Missouri, 78-63 inside historic Municipal Auditorium on Sunday.
The Lions (27-6,16-6 MIAA) were led by Layne Skiles with 20 points going 4-for-6 from three and 6-for-6 from free throws. Krylsyn Jones had 15 points going 3-for-6 from three. Lacy Stokes had 15 points and nine assists going 5-for-6 from free throws. Madi Stokes had a team-high 10 rebounds and six points, off the bench Mia Topping and Amaya Johns had seven points each with Johns grabbing four rebounds and Topping providing three assists.
Central Missouri (25-4,19-3 MIAA) was led by Brooke Littrell with 14 points and seven rebounds.
In the first quarter UCM got out to a fast start with a 15-3 lead but threes by Topping, Hailey Grant and Johns made it a 15-12 game with 1:05 remaining. The Jennies would end the quarter up 20-12 following two baskets in the final minute.
The second quarter began with a 9-2 run by the Lions to make it a one point game, 22-21 with 7:34 left following a pair of Lacy Stokes free throws. Southern took control of the game after a 13-6 run to close the half out ahead 34-30.
For the half Jones led the way with eight points, Skiles and Lacy Stokes had six points each with Lacy dishing out three assists. Madi Stokes had six rebounds to lead the team and as a team the Lions shot 46.7 percent from three going 7-for-15 and had a 10-2 advantage in second chance points.
To begin the third quarter the Lions utilized a 9-4 run to extend the lead out to nine, 43-34 with 6:04 left following a Jones driving layup. UCM would get it to within three with 3:10 left but Southern repelled the Jennies comeback bid while holding onto a third quarter lead of 51-45 thanks to a Topping driving layup with 13 seconds left in the quarter.
In the fourth quarter another fast start by the Lions made it a 59-47 lead as a pair of Lacy Stokes free throws with 7:48 remaining capped off an 8-2 run. The decisive blow was dealt with a 12-2 run by Southern to take a 71-52 lead with 4:20 left after a pair of Skiles free throws and ultimately out of reach for the Jennies with the Lions cruising to a 78-63 victory.
For their performances this weekend the Lions had three named to the All-Tournament team in Lacy Stokes, Amaya Johns and Layne Skiles. For Stokes and Skiles this is their second All-Tournament selection after becoming the first Lions in program history to earn that distinction last year and this is Johns first time being honored. Taking home Tournament MVP was Lacy Stokes who averaged 20.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 81.3 percent from free throws while having 16 assists and one turnover in 99 minutes.
This was the third MIAA Tournament Championship for the program and first since 1996 with the first being won in 1993. Southern for the tournament averaged 72.0 points per game while limiting their opponents to 58.3 points per game with an average margin of victory being 13.7 points. Overall as a team Southern shot 42.7 percent from the floor, 37.5 percent from three and 82.9 percent from free throws while limiting opposing teams to 36.6 percent from the field, 21.7 percent from three and 65.0 percent from free throws.
