Pittsburg, Kan. – The Missouri Southern women's basketball team beat Southwest Minnesota State 73-64 this afternoon at the Pittsburg State Tip Off Classic.

The Lions were led in scoring on the day by freshman guard Sharese Jones, who finished with a career-high 14 points to go along with 6 rebounds. The Lions also got another nice performance out of junior center Shonte Clay, who finished with her second consecutive 12-point outing. Clay also led the Lions with seven rebounds as the Lions outrebounded the Mustangs 38-25. Junior guard Shatara Stone also pitched in nine points.

Southwest Minnesota State was led by 26 points from guard Bree Holloman. She finished the day 8-16 from the field and 5-9 from three-point range.

With the Lions leading 10-9 at the first media timeout at the 13:37 mark of the first half, a 15-2 run over the next seven minutes, including six points by Jones, gave Southern a 25-11 lead. With the Mustangs closing the gap to 25-17, the Lions scored nine of the final ten points of the half, including five from junior guard Samantha Soyez, to go into the locker room up 34-18.

With the Lions extending their lead to 48-23 at the 12:38 mark of the second half, the Mustangs began to fight their way back into the game going on a 17-5 run over the next five minutes to close the game to within 53-40 with 7:42 remaining in the game. A layup by junior forward Dominique Mosley ended the run putting the Lions up 55-40. 

A 22-12 run over the next six minutes by the Mustangs, that included ten points from Holloman, allowed Southwest to close the gap to five as the Lions held a 67-62 edge with 0:36 remaining. That would be as close as the Mustangs would get though as a Jones layup and four free throws from junior guard Jolee Sharp gave the Lions a 11-point lead. A late layup by the Mustangs ended the game giving the Lions their first win of the season 73-64.

Southern shot 55.6 percent (25-45) from the field and 58.6 percent (7-12) from three-point range in the game. Southwest finished the afternoon shooting 30.4 percent (18-53) from the field and 43.5 percent (10-23) from behind the line.

The Lions (1-1) will play their home opener Monday night at 5:30 p.m. when they face Manhattan Christian (Kan.) in Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.