The Missouri Southern women's basketball team set to compete in the GAC/MIAA Challenge for the fifth-straight year to open the 2019-20 season for a pair of games against Henderson State tomorrow at noon before facing host Harding University on Saturday at 4:45 pm.
After a tune up with Wichita State, the Lions are ready for action in Searcy, Arkansas as they return 12-of-14 players from a season ago, including All-MIAA honorable mention senior forward Chasidee Owens who logged 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in the front court.
Joining Owens in the front court are three players over 6'0, including senior Jordan Schoenberger, junior Zoe Campbell, and red-shirt freshman Madi Stokes. Owens (178), Schoenberger (128), and Campbell (140) grabbed a combined 446 rebounds to push Southern into second in rebounds per contest (39.7) in the MIAA behind eventual conference champion Fort Hays State.
In the back court, senior guard Destiny Cozart returns as the team-leading 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game along with juniors Krista Clark and Morgan Brightwell to boost the deep and talented guard rotation with the addition of junior college transfers Megan Jackson and Shaniah Bishop, and rising sophomores Amber Buch and Layne Skiles.
Series with the Reddies
The Lions own a 4-0 record over the Reddies since the first meeting during the 1997-98 season with all four wins coming way of ten or less points, including last seasons battle in Joplin where Owens scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds while sophomore guard Amber Buch added 11 points and junior guard Krista Clark netted 11 toward the 79-69 victory after trailing by four at the conclusion of period number one.
Series with the Bison
On the other side of coin, Southern is searching for its first win over Harding with the Bison holding a 4-0 record against the Lions which includes a loss in Searcy back in 2012. The last meeting in the second week of the 2017-18 season was decided by two points with three players from that squad remaining, including junior guard/forward Morgan Brightwell who scored 11 points off the bench as the Lions led 33-31 at halftime.
Game Information
Date: Friday November 8, 2019/Saturday November 9, 2019
Tip-Off: noon / 4:45 pm
Location: Searcy, Arkansas
Site: Rhodes-Reaves Field House
Media Coverage
MSSU Radio: N/A
Audio: N/A
Webcast: https://thelink.harding.edu/tv16/ (both)
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=285821(HSU)
http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=277942 (HU)
Picking Up the Scent: Five Components on Opponents
Henderson State Reddies
Picked to finish fifth in the Great American
12 of 15 players are from the home state of Arkansas
Top-50 nationally:
28th - three-point FG defense (28.0)
50th - free-throw PCT (74.2) and three-points FGs per game (7.7)
Post-season Award Returnees
Sr., G Pink Jones: All-GAC (1st team)
Second in the GAC and 26th nationally in assists per game (4.6)
Averaged 15.1 points and 1.8 steals per game to lead the Reddies
13th member of the 1,000-point club last December for HSU
Sr., F Hailey Estes: All-GAC (Honorable Mention)
First in the GAC in three-point FGs per game (2.6)
First in the GAC in defensive rebounds per game (6.6)
Second in the GAC in three-point FGs made (70/2.4)
Fifth in the GAC in rebounds per game (8.1)
14th member of the 1,000-point club last February for HSU
2-5 in the opening weekend against present and former MIAA opponents since the 2015-16 season
(RV) Harding University Bison
Picked to win the GAC after returning all five starters from last year's squad
Has had five 20-plus winning seasons (2008-09, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2016-17, and 2018-19) and three first-place finishes in the conference under head coach Tim Kirby.
Top-10 nationally:
2nd - rebound margin (12.2)
5th - defensive rebounds (31) and total rebounds (45.47) per game
8th - field-goal PCT defense (34.6)
Post-season Award Returnees
Jr., F Kellie Lampo: All-Central Region (2nd team) & All-GAC (1st team)
Second in the GAC and 42nd nationally in points per game (18.4)
Second in the GAC in field-goal PCT (51.6)
Third in the GAC in field goals (197) and free-throws (149) made
Averaged 7.5 rebounds for first on the squad
Jr., G Carissa Caples: All-GAC (2nd team)
Third in the GAC in minutes played (35.3)
Sixth in the GAC in free-throw PCT (80.5)
Averaged 13.7 points, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game
Sr., F Cheyenne Brown (Honorable Mention)
Averaged 13.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.8 blocks
Registered a field-goal PCT of .476
Recorded a three-point field goal PCT of .387
Compete against five MIAA members this season, including No.7 Fort Hays State, preseason vote grabber Emporia State, Central Oklahoma, Washburn, and the Lions
Bring on the Polls
The Lions tip off the 2019-20 season and were picked ninth in the MIAA after capping off a 14-16 overall record and 6-13 in the MIAA along with a berth into the MIAA tournament where they eventually fell to Central Oklahoma in the first round. Defending Conference champions Fort Hays State was picked to win the conference again with ten first-place votes as well as earn a ranking of seventh by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). Central Missouri followed in second of the MIAA coaches' poll while landing eleventh in the national poll. Washburn (3), Pittsburg State (4), and Emporia State (5) rounded out the top five. ESU received 28 votes towards cracking the top-25 as seen below.
Rank School 2019 -20 Record Points Final Rank
1 Drury (8) 35-1 550 3
2 Lubbock Christian (14) 31-6 538 1
3 Grand Valley State 29-4 458 8
4 Azusa Pacific 28-6 436 9
5 Virginia Union 28-3 404 13
6 UC San Diego 30-1 394 6
7 Fort Hays State 32-2 368 5
8 Ashland 29-3 333 11
9 Indiana (Pa) 30-4 330 4
10 Saint Anselm 22-10 328 14
11 Central Missouri (1) 25-7 295 NR
12 West Texas A&M 29-4 264 23
13 Anderson (SC) 30-3 251 22
14 Lee 25-7 247 NR
15 Nova Southeastern 21-12 228 16
16 Alaska Anchorage 30-3 225 7
17 USciences 30-3 174 12
18 MSU Moorhead 27-7 172 NR
19 Le Moyne 26-6 151 NR
20 Southwestern Oklahoma State 36-1 150 2
21 Lander 23-9 139 NR
22 Glenville State 30-3 133 25
23 North Georgia 30-5 132 15
24 Angelo State 26-6 98 19
25 Benedict 20-7 73 NR
Others receiving votes on at least two ballots: Union (TN) (27-4) 61; California (PA) (26-6) 53; Northwest Nazarene (29-3) 53; Lewis (27-5) 50; Harding (21-9) 39; Tampa (22-9) 34; Thomas Jefferson (29-3) 30; Bentley (28-4) 29; Emporia State (22-9) 28; Stonehill (20-10) 23; LeMoyne-Owen (14-12) 19; Colorado Mesa (27-4) 18; Florida Southern (30-4) 17; Carson-Newman (22-8) 16; Michigan Tech (21-9) 10; Central Washington (18-11) 9; Sioux Falls (23-8) 9; Westminster (UT) (21-9) 9; Walsh (25-7) 6; Bowie State (22-6) 2.
Up Next
The Lions prepare for their home opener against Graceland University of the Heartland Conference as part of National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 5:30 pm.
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