Holcomb scores 26 as MSSU women defeat Northeastern State

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

Deb Holcomb had a career-high 23 points and added six rebounds as the Missouri Southern women's basketball team defeated visiting Northeastern State 62-55 today on Robert Corn Court inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

Southern (7-1, 1-1 MIAA) was led by Holcomb's 9-17 performance, including 3-8 from the field and 2-2 from the free- throw line. Sharese Jones had eight points, while Desirea Buerge and Jenson Maydew scored seven points each. Kenya Wilson-Brown added a career-high eight assists on the afternoon.

NSU (3-4, 0-2 MIAA) had two score in double-figures, led by 14 points from MaryJane Buschmann. Destiny Strange scored ten.

The Lions opened up the first quarter on fire and led 13-2 after a layup from Buerge with 4:13 left in the opening frame.

The RiverHawks, however, followed that up with an 8-0 run of their own to end the quarter as the Lions led 13-10 after one.

NSU kept the pressure on and outscored MSSU 16-9 in the second quarter. The RiverHawks tied the game at 17 with 7:13 left in the second quarter and took a 19-17 lead with 4:47 left in the quarter after a bucket from Strange.

A three pointer from Buschman with 31 seconds left in the half gave the RiverHawks their largest lead of the half at six (26-20), but a layup from Holcomb with eight seconds to go made the halftime score 26-22.

A bucket from Holcomb in the paint with 6:15 to go in the 3rdtied the game at 28, and an offensive rebound put back fromBri Shavers with 5:20 to go in the quarter gave the Lions a lead at 30-28.

The Lions' run reached 11-0 after a three from Holcomb gave Southern a 33-28 lead, forcing a RiverHawks' timeout. A three pointer for Dru Clark as time expired in the quarter gave Southern a 44-34 lead after three.

The RiverHawks opened up the fourth quarter with three-straight three pointers and cut the Lions' lead to one (44-43) with 7:39 left in the quarter. A reverse layup from Jones after the timeout stopped the run and pushed the score to 46-43.

After a three from the RiverHawks got the team to within seven (55-48) a three on the next trip down from Jones pushed the Lions' lead back to ten at 58-58 with 1:41 left in the game. A running layup from Holcomb made the score 60-51 with 48 seconds to go and forced an NSU timeout.

Southern held a 32-21 advantage on the boards and a 26-24 lead in the paint. The Lions shot 49 percent from the field and 53 percent from long-range, while making 70 percent of their free throws.

The Lions will be back in action on Wednesday night as Southern plays host to Northwest Missouri. Tip off is slated for 5:30 pm.

Prince scores 37 as MSSU downs Northeastern State 85-77

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

Taevaunn Prince nearly tied his career-high in points as the the Toronto native scored 37 and pulled down 10 in the Missouri Southern men's basketball 85-77 over visiting Northeastern State.

Southern (5-3, 2-0 MIAA) was led by Prince's 11-14 performance from the floor as he went 1-2 from long-range and 14-15 from the free-throw line. DJ Feitl had 11 points, while Charlie Brown scored 10 points.

NSU (1-5, 0-2 MIAA) was led 27 points from Montre' Williams as two others scored in double-figures.

Southern opened up a 16-6 lead at the 12:30 mark of the first half after back-to-back three's from Prince and Feitl. A three from Trey Mohair, however, cut the Lions' lead to 20-19, with 9:06 to go.

The Southern lead was 22-20 with 7:07 left, when the Lions went on a 13-2 run, capped off by a dunk from Prince off an alley-oop from Taylor Luster. Southern pushed its lead to 15, twice more in the half, the last coming after a pair of free-throws from Charlie Brown with 16 seconds left, but a three from the RiverHawks with five seconds left made the halftime score 42-30, Lions.'

Prince led all scorers at the half with 18 points and six boards.

A pair of freebies from Prince with 17:20 to go in the half pushed the Lions' lead to 13 (48-35), and a layup from Prince with 14:22 to go made the Southern lead 14 (54-40).

NSU chipped away at the Lions' lead and got to within six (75-69) after a layup from Mohair with 2:19 to go in the game. The Lions' led 79-71 with 54 seconds left and held on with late free throws to seal the win.

Southern shot 46 percent from the field and 24 percent from long-range and the Lions shot 80 percent from the free-throw line for the second-straight game. The Lions out rebounded Northeastern State 37-35, and had a 30-28 advantage in the paint.

The Lions will be back in action on Wednesday night as Southern plays host to Northwest Missouri. Tip off is slated for 7:30 pm.

MSSU women to play Northeastern State today

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

The Missouri Southern Lions (6-1, 0-1 MIAA) are looking to bounce back after their first loss of the season Thursday night as they host Northeastern State (3-3, 0-1 MIAA) Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. on Robert Corn Court inside The Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

The Lions are coming off an 81-79 overtime loss to Central Oklahoma that saw Southern commit 27 turnovers and squander a 12 point lead over the final two minutes of regulation. Senior Sharese Jones recorded her second double-double of the season as she scored 24 points and pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds. Sophomore Jenson Maydew tied her career-high with 18 points as the Lions finished the game 26-for-52 from the field and 12-for-22 from beyond the arc.

On the season Jones is leading the Lions in scoring with 19.7 ppg and rebounding with 7.7 rpg. Junior Deb Holcomb is adding 14.7 points per contest with 3.6 rebounds, 11 assists, and 13 steals. Senior Kenya Wilson-Brown has dished out 35 assists on the season with sophomore Dru Clark added 13. Jones, who scored her 1,000th point against Avila on November 24 is now at 1,043 and has passed Sonya Harlin (1993-95) for 12th on the all-time scoring list at Southern.

The Northeastern State women's basketball team lost 76-38 to Pittsburg State Wednesday evening inside John Lance Arena in the MIAA opener for both programs. The RiverHawks dropped to 3-3 on the season, while the Gorillas (5-0) remained perfect. Sophomore guard Miranda Griffin led NSU with 12 points off the bench. Northeastern State shot 21.6 percent (11-for-51) overall, 14.3 percent (3-for-21) from behind the 3-point line and 92.9 percent (13-for-14) at the free-throw line. PSU shot 42.9 percent (27-for-63) from the field, 47.1 percent (8-for-17) from deep and 82.4 percent (14-for-17) at the charity stripe.

The Series
This will be the 27th meeting between the RiverHawks and the Lions. NSU leads the overall series 15-11. Southern snapped the longest winning streak of either team when they handed the RiverHawks an 80-77 overtime loss in Tahlequah, Okla. on Jan. 11, 2014. The Lions have now two in a row over Northeastern State with a 50-34 win in Joplin last season. The longest Lions win streak is three with Southern winning those games from Nov. 18, 2006 thru Nov. 28, 2008. Since joining the MIAA NSU is 2-2 against the Lions and 1-1 in Joplin with a 69-45 win on Jan. 26, 2013. The Lions lead the series at 4-3 since the opening of The Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

The Coaches
NSU - Randy Gipson, 304-166 (17th Season)
MSSU - Ronda Hubbard, 45-16 (3rd Season)

Projected Starters
Northeastern State (3-3, 0-1 MIAA)
4 Alexis Hill G 5-6 So. (Garland, Texas)
5 Kate Bellamy G 5-9 Sr. (Cambewarra, Australia)
15 Mary Jane Buschmann F 5-11 Jr. (St. James, Mo.)
22 Kylie Looney G 5-8 Fr. (Adair, Okla.)
24 Destiny Strange F 6-0 So. (Mansfield, Texas)
Missouri Southern (6-1, 0-1 MIAA)
11 Kenya Wilson-Brown G 5-5 Sr. (Arlington, Texas)
14 Tami Morice G 5-11 Sr. (Naperville, Ill.)
24 Deb Holcomb G 5-7 Jr. (Dallas, Texas)
30 Bri Shavers F 6-0 So. (Carrollton, Texas)
44 Sharese Jones G/F 5-8 Sr. (St. Charles, Mo.)