Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern Women's team will hit the road for a MIAA contest on Thursday evening with the Lincoln Blue Tigers inside Jason Gym in Jefferson City.

The Series
This is the 35th meeting between Southern and the Blue Tigers. The Lions holds a 29-5 advantage over Lincoln including an 12-4 record in Jefferson City. The Lions are 15-1 in Joplin against Lincoln and 5-1 inside The Leggett & Platt Athletic Center while, Southern leads the series 2-0 on neutral courts.  Since Lincoln rejoined the MIAA in 2010, Southern holds a 7-2 advantage over the Blue Tigers.  The longest winning streak for the Lions is 14 games and started with an 86-60 win on Jan. 13, 1990 in Joplin and lasted through a 74-64 win in Joplin on Dec. 20, 1997. After departing the MIAA for the Heartland Conference in 1999-2000 the two schools only met twice until the return of Lincoln to the MIAA. Those two meetings were both won by Southern, 63-58 in Joplin on Nov. 27, 1999 and an 81-44 win in Joplin on Nov. 29, 2002.

The Coaches
Missouri Southern
Ronnie Ressel is in his 15th year on the staff at Missouri Southern and his first year at the helm of the women's program. During his three years as an assistant for the women, Ressel had helped the team to a 58-30 record and a 38-22 mark in the MIAA. In 2015-16 the team saw two players earn All-MIAA status as Sharese Jones was a first-team selection, while Deb Holcomb was a third-team pick.

Lincoln
Ayana McWilliams was named on May 2 as the next head women's basketball coach at Lincoln University. McWilliams spent the past five years as an assistant coach at the University of South Carolina Upstate, an NCAA Division I program. This past season, McWilliams helped lead the Spartans to a program-record 22 victories as well as a berth in the Women's Basketball Invitational tournament, USC Upstate's second postseason trip in the past three years. The Spartans won their first postseason game as a Division I team this spring and advanced all the way to the WBI semifinals.

Possible Starters
Missouri Southern (5-4, 2-0 MIAA)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG Assists Steals Hometown
2 Shannon Mitchell F 6-1 So. 3.9 3.4 9 4 Seligman, Mo.
15 Chelsey Henry G 5-10 So. 9.1 3.7 11 5 Neosho, Mo.
21 Desirea Buerge F 6-0 So. 10.4 5.3 4 11 Webb City, Mo.
23 Amelia Bramer G 5-10 R-Sr. 7.2 2.1 14 7 Mt. Vernon, Mo.
24 Deb Holcomb G 5-7 Sr. 14.9 3.6 17 11 Dallas, Texas

Lincoln (1-5, 0-0 MIAA)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG Assists Steals Hometown
1 Erica Gibbons F 6-0 Fr. 10.0 5.2 3 11 Atlanta, Ga.
22 Hunter Yoakum G 5-7 Sr. 19.7 4.2 11 9 Dixon, Mo.
23 Citlali Lopez G 5-7 Jr. 3.5 2.2 14 3 Whiting, Ind.
25 Azaria Nave G 5-6 Sr. 19.3 4.0 23 10 San Antonio, Texas
33 Shamirah Johnson F 5-9 Sr. 3.7 2.5 6 3 Shawnee, Kan.

The Last Time Out
Missouri Southern
The Lions had four score in double figures as Southern came away with their second straight double digit win to open MIAA play. Holcomb led the Lions with 21 points while sophomores Chelsey Henry and Desirea Buerge added 14 and 12 points each. Junior forward Jenson Maydew recorded the first double-double of the season for Southern with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while junior guard Jasmine Green added nine points and three assists off the bench.

Lincoln
The Lincoln women's basketball team out-scored Harris Stowe 36-29, in the second half, but the Hornets held off a later Blue Tiger comeback as HSSU beat LU, 68-64, in the Show Me State Classic on Saturday (Dec. 3).
Lincoln faced a 39-28 deficit at halftime, but shot .412 from the floor over the final two quarters and forced 11 turnovers to get back in the game. The Blue Tigers came within one point of the Hornets, 48-47, with 2:47 remaining in the third, but Harris Stowe used a quick 5-0 run to keep Lincoln from taking the lead.

Quick Notes
Dialing Long Distance

The Lions have made a three pointer in 475 consecutive games. The last time Southern did not make a shot from downtown was in a 68-53 loss to Southern Arkansas on Nov. 20, 1999.

Defensive Effort
The Lions have not allowed 100 points to an opponent since Emporia State defeated Southern 102-60 on Feb. 12, 2000. That is 455 straight games without allowing 100+ points.

Leading At The Half
The Lions led the game at the half in 3 of 9 games this season and are 3-0 in those games.

Sharp Shooting
Southern is 3-0 when out shooting their opponents this season.

Glass Cleaners
The Lions, as a team has out rebounded 6 of their 9 opponents this season and are 4-2 in those contests.

Friendly Confines of LPAC
Southern is 156-60 inside The Leggett & Platt Athletic Center since the 2001-02 season. 

Picking Pockets
When the Lions have more steals than their opponents they are 3-1 this season.

Supporting cast
Southern's bench  has outscored their opponents five times this season and the Lions are 4-1 in those contests.