MSSU women to play Northeastern State

(From MSSU Lions Club)

The Missouri Southern women's basketball team is set to host the Northeastern State RiverHawks inside Leggett & Platt Athletic Center tomorrow. Tip-off from Robert Corn Court is set for 5:30 pm and is the home opener for the Lions.

Game Information

Teams: Missouri Southern (1-3, 1-3 MIAA) vs. Northeastern State (2-0, 2-0 MIAA)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020
Tip-Off: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Joplin, Mo.
Site: Robert Corn Court inside Leggett & Platt Athletic Center
Series Record: NSU, leads 17-16

Coaches

MSSU: Ronnie Ressel, 48-71 (5th Season)
NSU: Fala Bullock, 120-129 (9th Season Overall), 23-60 (4th Season at NSU)

D2SIDA Preseason Poll

The poll was released Dec. 1, and featured Emporia State, Central Missouri and Nebraska-Kearney from the MIAA while the GAC was represented by Southeastern Oklahoma State and the NSIC had Minnesota-Duluth and Sioux Falls to represent the Central Region teams.

RiverHawks Returners

Coming back this season is Cenia Hayes after being named honorable mention by the MIAA after leading the team with 14.7 points per game connecting on a team-high 59 three pointers as well. Shae Sanchez played the most minuets last season will be back after averaging 12.3 points per game chipping in with 43 assists last season. Morgan Lee, Maegan Lee, Zaria Collins, and Cielo McClain round out the returners from this past season.

1000-Point Scorer Face-Off

This will be the first match up of the year for the Lions were the opposing team has a career 1,000 point scorer. Cenia Hayes and Carley Turnbull are averaging at least 10 points per game while shooting over 40 percent from the field this season. Both are also team leaders in steals so far with Hayes leading the MIAA and Turnbull coming in third in the category.

KGCS to provide live coverage of MSSU home basketball games

(From Southern News Service)

Once again, local television viewers will have the chance to see all MSSU men’s and women’s home conference basketball games live this season on KGCS-TV. The station will also provide video for live-streaming on The MIAA Network.

“With limited ability for fans to see the games in person, this coverage provides opportunities for them to follow the men and women this year,” said Judy Stiles, KGCS general manager.

The first games scheduled are on Thursday, Dec. 3 against Northeastern State University. Tip-off for the women’s game is 5:30 p.m., with the men’s game to follow. The Lions have additional home games scheduled before the end of the year on Dec. 5, 17 and 19.

Students, faculty and staff collaborate to cover the games live. They are involved in all aspects of the broadcasts - from announcing and camera work at the Leggett and Platt Athletic Center, to directing behind the scenes. “This is a great opportunity for hands-on experience in live sports coverage,” added Stiles.

KGCS programing can be seen on channel 21, and is also available on regional cable television systems such as Sparklight, Mediacom and Suddenlink Communications. Fans can access the link for the live-stream through the MSSU Athletics website.



KGCS operates as a service of the Department of Communication at Missouri Southern State University.

Missouri Southern women post first victory, defeating Lincoln 81-65

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

The Missouri Southern women's basketball team finished off a season-opening road trip with an 81-65 win over the Lincoln Blue Tigers inside Jason Gymnasium today.

Southern (1-3, 1-3 MIAA) was fueled by sophomore center Madi Stokes' first double-double of the season, with 15 points after going 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line, while adding 13 rebounds. 

Amaya Johns had a season-high 14 points going 5-of-8 from the field, connecting on a three-pointer and going 3-of-5 from the free throw line.

Anna Hall posted a new season-high scoring seven going 3-of-3 from the field and connecting on a three. Stocks finished with nine points and grabbed six rebounds while dishing out two assists.

For the Blue Tigers (0-1, 0-1 MIAA) Niyah Jackson finished with 15 points and had five assists. Deija Jackson had 12 points and Aliyah Bello scored 10 points while nabbing a game-high three steals.

In the first quarter, the Lions utilized a 12-0 run to take a lead they would not relinquish over Lincoln. Stokes got the run started with a put back layup from a missed shot to tie the game up with 5:48 remaining. Freshman guard Kaitlin Hunnicutt connected on a three-pointer the following possession to get things rolling. Senior guard Brooke Stauffer finished off the scoring in the opening quarter with a free throw to put the Lions up 20-10. Southern finished the quarter limiting the Blue Tigers to shooting 27 percent from the floor.

The second quarter had freshman forward Anna Hall get on the scoreboard first after an assist from a senior center Zoe Campbell, before hitting a three the following possession making the score 25-12. A Hunnicutt free throw with 4:47 remaining in the half pushed the Southern lead to 17 the largest of the half.

At the half Southern was shooting 50 percent from the field while limiting the Blue Tigers to shooting 26 percent. Had a 30-16 rebounding advantage while also having a 27-2 lead in bench scoring.
In the third quarter, Southern rode the wave of a 10-0 run started by Stauffer who connected on an open three with 8:13 remaining that was followed up by senior guard Megan Jackson and Stokes layups. Johns capped off the run with a jumper and-one putting the score at 55-33.

Southern stretched the lead out to 23 with 5:52 remaining in the game after a Johns layup that put the score at 75-52.

Up next for the Lions is the home opener against Northeastern State Thursday, with tip-off scheduled at 5:30 pm inside Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.