Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern women's basketball team used an 18-0 run over parts of the first and second quarters and took out visiting Nebraska-Kearney 76-53 tonight on
Robert Corn Court inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
Southern (16-8, 10-8 MIAA) was led in scoring by 15 points each for
Dru Clark and
Sharese Jones. Both had five rebounds, while Jones added three assists. The 15 points were a career-high for Clark.
Deb Holcomb scored 13 points in the game.
UNK (12-11, 8-9 MIAA) was led by 19 points from Laramey Becker.
The Lopers started the game on a 6-0 run and Southern scored its first points with 4:27 left in the first quarter after a jumper from Jones. The UNK lead was 10-5 after a jumper with 1:39 left in the quarter.
That's when the Lions clamped down on defense, and slammed on the accelerator. Southern went on a 5-0 run to end the quarter, capped off by a three by Holcomb as time expired.
The run reached 18-0 after a three from
Tami Morice with 7:49 left in the quarter to make the score 23-10, Lions. A pair of free throws from Clark with 3:19 left pushed the lead to 20 (34-14) and a pair of free throws with just a tenth of a second left on the clock gave the Lions a 38-14 lead at the break. Southern closed the half on a 33-4 run.
The Southern lead reached 26 (45-19) after a layup from
Kayla Kivinski, and a layup from Buerge with 1:03 left in the third, gave the Lions a 55-28 lead. The Lopers cut the Lions' lead to 20 twice, but that would be as close as they got.
After Southern trailed 10-5 late in the first quarter, the Lions out scored the Lopers 71-43 in the final 32 minutes of the game.
Southern had a 32-25 advantage on the boards and forced 14 UNK turnovers, scoring 18 points off of the miscues. The Lions' bench out scored the Lopers 35-19. The Lions shot 52 percent from the field and 41 percent from long-range. Southern shot 83 percent from the free throw line. The 52 percent was after the Lions opened the game 0-7.
The Lions will be back in action this Saturday as Southern plays host to Fort Hays State. Tip off is slated for 1 pm.
