(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)
The Missouri Southern Women's Basketball team coming off their bye date in the first half of MIAA play prepare to close out first round action at Pittsburg State on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at John Lance Arena.
Last Time Out for the Lions (11-5, 5-5 MIAA)
Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern women's basketball team used a 9-0 run late in the third quarter to pull away and held on to defeat visiting Central Missouri 62-59 on Robert CornCourt inside the Leggrett & Platt Athletic Center today.
Southern (11-6, 5-5 MIAA) was led in scoring by Deb Holcombwith 18 points as she added a career-high seven assists.Sharese Jones had 16 points and eight rebounds, while Desirea Buerge scored 13 points and added a career-high eight rebounds.
Central had a five-point lead (9-4) after a layup from Winkelman with 6:03 left in the first quarter, but a layup from Holcomb as time expired in the quarter cut the Central lead to just one (15-14).
A layup from Dru Clark with 17:31 left in the quarter gave the Lions a 16-15 lead, but Central answered back the next trip down and led from that point on in the half. The Jennies led by as many as six (22-16) with 4:15 left in the half, but a layup from Tami Morice with 1:31 to go made the halftime score 22-20, UCM.
After the halftime break, the Lions made their move. A layup from Buerge with 7:18 left in the quarter tied the score at 28 and a three from Jones with 6:19 to go gave the Lions a 31-30 lead. A jumper from Holcomb with 3:12 left in the quarter capped off a 9-0 run by the Lions and gave Southern a 37-30 lead. The lead would be 41-36 at the end of the quarter.
After a Central bucket, an offensive rebound and a put back from Jones with two to go made the score 56-55, Lions and a three from Buerge with 1:30 to go gave the Lions a four-point advantage (59-55). On the ensuing possession, the Lions forced a defensive stop and after the rebound, Holcomb was fouled, making one of the two free throws.
A three from the Jennies cut the Lions' lead to 60-59 with 20 seconds to go and a turnover by the Lions on the in bounds play gave the ball back to Central with 19.3 seconds to go. However, solid defense from the Lions forced a bad shot from Central and Jones made both free throws to put Southern up 62-59 with 0.7 seconds on the clock. A last-second shot for the Jennies was no good.
Southern shot 38 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free throw line. Southern forced 15 UCM turnovers and scored 15 points off of the miscues.
Last Time Out for the Gorillas (12-4, 6-4 MIAA)
PITTSBURG -- The Pitt State women's basketball team took an extra five minutes to earn an 87-84 win over Southwest Baptist on Saturday (January 9).
Pitt State trailed most of the game, but took the lead late in the in the fourth quarter thanks to some sharp shooting from Hadyn Herlocker, 76-74. SBU's Dilonna Johnson tied the game as she drained a jumper at the buzzer. Johnson finished the game with a game-high 27 points.
The heroics for Herlocker and Johnson continued to start the overtime period, as Herlocker scored on a layup first and Johnson answered with a three. Neither team scored again until Cathy Brugman sunk a jumper for the Gorillas to give her team the lead for good with 2:16 left in the overtime. Mikaela Brugess hit a three to give Pitt State its largest lead of the game. A three-pointer by the Bearcats' Lucy Morgan cut Pitt State's lead to one with four seconds left, but Brugman nailed two free throws for the final 87-84 win.
Brugman led the Gorillas with 25 points and was just short of a double-double with nine rebounds. Hadyn Herlocker added a season high 17 points. She and Mikaela Burgess, who finished the game with 21, made three threes a piece. Kylie Gafford rounded out the Gorillas in double figures with 13. She also had four blocked shots.
Pitt State had the lead only once in the first half, late in the second quarter on a Madison Northcutt free throw. Southwest Baptist quickly answered and led by three again with three seconds to go. Herlocker threw up a prayer from beyond half court as time expired and it gently settled in to give the Gorillas a 42-42 tie and a little adrenaline boost at the half.
The Series
This is the 86th meeting between the Trophy Series rivals, the second most played series in Southern history. Pitt State holds a 44-41 advantage, with the Lions winning two of the last three. Pitt State holds a 25-17 advantage inside John Lance Arena, while Southern leads 23-18 in Joplin and the series is tied 1-1 on neutral courts. The Lions have won the last two games in Pittsburg which includes a 72-68 overtime win last season on Feb. 21. Southern's longest winning streak was eight games from December 12, 1974 thru February 24, 1978. Pitt State's longest winning streak was at 10 from January 28, 1998 thru February 13, 2002.
Last Time vs. Pittsburg State
Pittsburg, Kan. - Southern (18-6, 12-5 MIAA) wins for the 17th time inside John Lance Arena in Pittsburg and the second time in a row. The Lions also defeated their second ranked opponent on the season as Southern also won at No. 7 Washburn earlier in the season.
The Lions were led offensively by 18 points and a career-high nine rebounds from Nic Hartzog. Camilla Lacerda had 14 points, while Sharese Jones scored 12. Jordan Dinyer had nine points and a career-high 14 rebounds.
The Lions opened the scoring when Hartzog put back a shot on the team's first possession. The game was tied at nine after a jumper from Tami Morice with 13:26 left to go in the half, and the Lions took a 11-9 lead on a tip-in from Hartzog with just under 12 minutes to go.
A jumper from Jenson Maydew with 7:52 to go capped a 9-3 run by the Lions and put Southern up 18-12. Pitt tied the game at 20 and went ahead 23-22 with 3:15 to go in the half, but the Lions closed the half on a 7-4 run and a three from Dinyer, her second of the half, as time expired gave the Lions a 29-27 lead at the break.
A pair of free throws from PSU cut the Lions' lead to just two (33-31) with 16:29 left to go in the second half. A 5-2 run by the Lions put Southern up 38-33, but Pitt tied the game at 41 with 11:01 left. Southern then went on a 7-0 run and led 48-41 after a pair of free throws from Lacerda with 9:17 left.
A three from Shawnee Phillips gave the Lions an eight point lead (54-46) with 6:52 to go, but Pitt tied the game again at 54 with 4:11 to go. The two teams traded buckets the rest of the way and headed into overtime.
The Lions got a three from Lacerda on the opening possession of overtime and a pair of freebies from Jones gave the Lions a 65-60 lead with 3:45 left in the extra frame. A layup from Lacerda with 2:18 to go made the score 67-62, Lions, but PSU went on a 4-0 run to get to within one (67-66) with 30 seconds left. A pair of free throws the next trip down from Hartzog gave the Lions a three-point lead back (69-66).
Pitt missed on an attempt at three with just over ten seconds to go and Dinyer pulled down the rebound, while getting fouled on the play. The freshman calmly made one of two free throws and PSU converted on a put back with 1.9 seconds to go making the score 70-68, Lions. Two freebies from Hartzog gave the Lions the 72-68 win.
The Coaches
Missouri Southern
Ronda Hubbard is in her 15th year on the staff at Missouri Southern and her third year at the helm. During her 15 years with the Lions, she has helped the team to a 240-163 record, including a 50-20 record in her first two plus seasons at the helm of the Lions program. Last season's 20 wins was the first time the women's team had won 20 games since the 1995-96 season.
Pittsburg State
Lane Lord enters his ninth season as head women's basketball coach at Pittsburg State University. Lord brings a fast-paced, fan-friendly style of basketball to Pittsburg and with his proven track record of success, the future of Pitt State women's basketball is bright. He has a 154-83 (.626) record in his time with the Gorillas. 2014-15 saw the Gorillas make their second consecutive trip the the NCAA Tournament and the third bid under Coach Lord. The team finished with a 27-7 record, saw three players, Lizzy Jeronimus, Kylie Gafford and Cathy Brugman earn All-MIAA honors and tied the 2012 Elite Eight squad with a school-record 27 wins.
Probable Starters
Pittsburg State (12-4, 6-4 MIAA)
10 Paige Lungwitz G 5-10 Jr. (Wichita, Kan.)
12 Hadyn Herlocker G 5-7 Jr. (Girard, Kan.)
15 Mikaela Burgess G 5-7 So. (Webb City, Mo.)
23 Kylie Gafford F 6-2 Sr. (Overland Park, Kan.)
34 Cathy Brugman G/F 6-1 Sr. (Wichita, Kan.)
Missouri Southern (11-5, 5-5 MIAA)
1 Dru Clark G 5-7 So. (Collinsville, Okla.)
11 Kenya Wilson-Brown G 5-5 Sr. (Arlington, Texas)
21 Desirea Buerge F 6-0 Fr. (Webb City, Mo.)
24 Deb Holcomb G 5-7 Jr. (Dallas, Texas)
44 Sharese Jones G 5-8 Sr. (St. Charles, Mo.)
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