MSSU women defeat Minnesota State Mankato 70-58

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

The Missouri Southern women used a 16-4 run to close out the second quarter and take the lead for good as the Lions defeated Minnesota State Mankato 70-58 Wednesday night on Robert Corn Court inside The Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

Southern (3-0) opened the game with a layup from junior Deb Holcomb as the Lions and Minnesota State (0-1) traded buckets for the first six minutes before the Mavericks went on a 7-0 run to build a 19-12 advantage with just under three minutes to play in the first quarter. The Lions answered with a 9-2 run to close the quarter and take a one point lead, 21-20, into the break.

Minnesota State used a 4-0 run to take a three point lead, 24-21, to open the second quarter of play before sophomoreJenson Maydew drilled a three pointer from the top of the key to give the game its seventh and final tie at 24-24 with just under six and a half minutes to play in the half. From that point Southern rallied off the 16-4 run for the 37-28 lead headed into the locker room. During that run Maydew contributed five points, sophomores Jordan Dinyer and Kayla Kivinski each had four, freshman Chelsey Henry sank a pair of free throws, and Holcomb added one point.

For the half, the Lions shot 50 percent (15-for-30) from the field and went 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Southern out rebounded Minnesota State 18-16 and forced the Mavericks into six turnovers. MSU shot 41.9 percent (13-for-31) from the field and they Mavericks were shut out from beyond the arc going 0-for-4.

Minnesota State opened the third quarter with a 5-0 run, all from Madison Lee, to cut the Lions' lead down to four at 37-33. Sophomore Bri Shavers ended that run with a layup from senior Tami Morice to put Southern back up six. Three free throws from the Mavericks cut the lead down to three, the closest that MSU would get for the rest of the game, at 39-36, with just over seven minutes to play in the third. A 6-0 run, buckets from Holcomb and seniors Kenya Wilson-Brown andSharese Jones pushed the lead back up to nine, 45-36, at the five minute media timeout. After cutting the lead down to four Kivinski would sink three free throws to give the Lions a seven point lead, 50-43, headed into the final quarter.

Holcomb started the fourth quarter with a driving bucket to put the Lions up nine at 52-43. Following a 6-0 run by Minnesota State to cut the lead down to three, Holcomb answered with a three pointer off the dime from Wilson-Brown pushed the lead back up to nine with just over five minutes to play. A layup from Jones with 1:31 to play gave the Lions a 10 point lead at 63-53 and from there Southern went 6-for-7 from the charity stripe to close out the 70-58 win.

For the game Southern shot 42.9 percent (24-for-56) from the field and went 20-for-25 from the free throw line while Minnesota State shot 35.6 percent (21-for-59) from the field and the Lions' defense held MSU to just 1-for-10 shooting from three point range. Southern out rebounded the Mavericks 40-36 and forced Minnesota State into 15 turnovers while blocking six shots and swiping five steals. Holcomb led the Lions with 20 points, Jones added 17, and Maydew pulled down a career high ten rebounds on the night.

Minnesota State was led by Lee and Claire Ziegler both with 12 points and McKenzie Hoelmenn pulled down ten rebounds for the Mavericks.

The Lions will be back in action this Saturday as they travel to Kirksville, Missouri to take on Truman State University with a 1 p.m. tip off. Live stats for the game can be found atwww.mssulions.com.