Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern Women's Basketball team will continue their home stand Wednesday night as they host the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats on Robert Corn Court inside The Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. Tip off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

The Lions Last Time Out (7-1, 1-1 MIAA)
Junior 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. Senior Sharese Jones had eight points, while freshman Desirea Buerge and sophomore Jenson Maydew scored seven points each. Senior Kenya Wilson-Brown added a career-high eight assists on the afternoon. 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.
On the season the Lions are shooting 43.2 percent from the field while holding their opponents to 39.0 percent. Southern is also out rebounding their opponents with a +7.5 rebounds per game margin (37.6-30.1).

The Bearcats Last Time Out (2-6, 0-2 MIAA)
Central Missouri hit 14 three-pointers in Saturday's 85-39 victory over the Northwest Missouri State women's basketball team.
Taylor Shull scored nine points for the second straight game to lead the Bearcats. Shull added one block and two steals on the defensive end. Sophomore Tanya Meyer added seven points and five rebounds. Tember Schechinger grabbed five rebounds and made one steal. On the offensive side, the senior poured in her only shot of the game. Carlie Wilhelmi came off the bench to score five points and corral four rebounds.
The Bearcats grabbed 11 offensive rebounds while limiting UCM to 10 offensive boards. 21 turnovers plagued Northwest, turning into 20 points for the Jennies.

The Series
This is the 51st meeting between Southern and Northwest Missouri. The Lions hold a 26-24 advantage in the series. Southern has a 15-8 record in Joplin, including a 10-5 record on Robert Corn Court inside The Leggett & Platt Athletic Center, while Northwest holds a 14-11 advantage in Maryville and a 2-0 advantage in Kansas City and a 3-0 overall advantage in the MIAA Post-Season Tournament. The longest winning streak in the series for Southern is six games from Feb. 8, 1992 thru Jan. 25, 1995. Northwest Missouri answered with a six game stretch of their own Jan. 31, 1996 thru Feb. 6, 1999. The Lions have won eight of the last nine against Northwest Missouri, with the Bearcats lone win coming on March 5, 2013 in the first round of the MIAA Post-Season Tournament in Joplin.

Last Time The Lions & Bearcats Met
Maryville, Mo. - The Missouri Southern Women Basketball Team (15-6, 9-5 MIAA) won an overtime thriller Wednesday night, 73-71, over Northwest Missouri (8-16, 4-11 MIAA) inside Bearcat Arena.
The game started much like the last meeting in Joplin as the Lions were out shot by Northwest Missouri 56.5 percent (13-23) to 38.5 percent (10-26). Southern trailed by as much as 12 in the first half, 29-17, before cutting the lead down to single digits, 37-28, at the break.
The Lions started the second half with a layup from Nic Hartzog that narrowed the Northwest Missouri lead to seven, 37-30, before both teams traded buckets over the next two minutes. The Bearcats went on a 4-0 run to open their largest lead of the night at 47-34 with 15:25 to play.
From there Southern would go on an 18-0 run over the next five minutes to take a five point lead, their largest of the game, at 52-47 with 10:19 left in regulation. During that span NWMSU went 0-5 from the field with five turnovers, while the Lions recorded three steals. In the 18-0 run Hartzog contributed eight points, as she started the run with a pair of free throws and was the last to score in the run on a layup. Lex Fitzpatrick added six points, four straight free throws, while Tami Morice and Jenson Maydew each added a pair.
The Lions led by five three different times in the final nine minutes but Northwest Missouri kept reeling them back in before taking a one point lead on a pair of free throws with 3:02 to play. Fitzpatrick tied the game at 64-64 on a free throw of her own, 12th point of the night, with 57 seconds left.
Maydew would give Southern their first lead in OT as she drained a three pointer and Sharese Jones connected for a layup from Maydew to give Southern a three point lead, 69-66, with 3:20 to play. Northwest tied the game for a sixth time at 69-69 on their next possession as Ariel Easton nailed a three. After trading a pair of free throws to tie the game at 71-71 with 1:31 to play Northwest got a rebound from a missed three pointer that went out of bounds off of Southern. Tanya Meyer was driving the lane when Fitzpatrick ripped the ball out of her hands and found a streaking Hartzog for the game winning layup with three seconds to go.

The Coaches
NWMSU:  Michael Smith, 20-43 (3rd Season), 88-111 (8th Overall)
MSSU: Ronda Hubbard, 46-16 (3rd Season)

Projected Starters
Northwest Missouri (2-6, 0-2 MIAA)
11    Taylor Shull    G    5-8    Sr.   (Mt. Pleasant, Iowa)
15    Tanya Meyer    F    5-10    So. (Sioux City, Iowa)
22    Tember Schechinger    G    5-10    Sr. (Manilla, Iowa)
34    Macy Williams    G    5-7    Fr. (Tabor, Iowa)
40    Jasmin Howe    G    5-8    Jr. (Millicent, Australia)

Missouri Southern (7-1, 1-1 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    5-8    Sr.  (St. Charles, Mo.)