Box Score Bolivar, Mo. -- The Missouri Southern Lions led by nine at the
half, but the Southwest Baptist Bearcats rallied in the second half
for a 55-50 win Saturday evening (Jan. 30) at the Meyer Sports
Center in Bolivar, Mo.
A layup by Jasmine Lovejoy gave the Lions a 28-20 lead but
Chasity Prince nailed a three that cut the lead to five with 17:33
remaining.
Both teams then went scoreless for the next two minutes when
Whitney Malone broke the scoring drought with a layup that made it
a three-point game at the 15:28 mark.
Another layup by Malone cut the Lion lead to one before Michelle
Hedgecock split two free throws that put the Lions back up by
two.
The Bearcats then twice split a pair of free-throws that tied
the score before Prince scored to give SBU their first lead of the
game at 31-29 with 12:48 remaining that prompted a timeout by MSSU.
The Lions responded well after the timeout with five straight
and led 34-31 on a layup by LaTice Jones.
SBU quickly jumped back in front with a 9-4 run as Courtney
Heady drilled a trey that made it 40-38 in favor of the
Bearcats with 7:54 left.
The Lions again fought back as Jolea Apon and Erin Rice each hit
two free throws to put the Lions ahead by two at the 5:58
mark.
Malone hit another layup that tied the score but Rice
answered for the Lions with a free-throw and then a score
inside for a 45-42 lead with 4:25 left.
But that would be the Lions' last lead of the game as Ashleigh
Gallio tied the score with a three and Rachel Graves hit two free
throws that put the Bearcats up 47-45 with 3:38 left.
Lovejoy split a pair at the charity stripe to make it a
one-point game but Heady answered with a layup on the other end
that put the Bearcats ahead 49-46.
The Lions trailed by four when they forced a turnover that led
to Lovejoy heading to the line and hitting one free throw that
brought the Lions to within 53-50.
Southern was then forced to foul and Graves hit a pair of
critical free throws that sealed the win for the Bearcats.
The Lions (11-9, 5-8 MIAA) got off to a strong start by scoring
the first five points of the game before SBU answered with a 10-5
run to tie the score on a layup by Jasmine Sanford at the 13:58
mark of the first half.
The Lions then clamped down on the defensive end and out-scored
the Bearcats 14-2 over the next 10 minutes to lead 24-12 with 3:55
remaining in the opening half. The Lions took a 26-17 lead
into the locker room.
Rice led the Lions with 13 points and Lovejoy added 12 along
with a team-high seven rebounds.
Graves had a team-best 13 points for the Bearcats (4-15,
2-10 MIAA) on 3-of-10 from the field but 6-of-6 from the
charity stripe. Malone and Prince each scored 10 for SBU.
The Lions continued their recent dominance on the boards with a
38-26 rebounding advantage overall and a 12-5 edge on the offensive
glass.
This marks the fourth time in the last five games that the Lions
have enjoyed a double-digit advantage in rebounds.
But free-throw shooting proved costly for the Lions as they
managed only a 59 percent shooting clip (13-of-22) from the foul
line.
The Lions will next play on Saturday evening (Feb. 6) at
home against the Missouri Western Griffons. Tip-off is
set for 5:30 p.m. at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
The Griffons won the first matchup this season
(12/30/09) 78-62 in St. Joseph, Mo.