Topeka, Kan. - The Missouri Southern Women's basketball team (15-8, 9-8 MIAA) used a 15-2 run to open the fourth quarter to rally past Washburn (12-10, 8-8 MIAA) 73-67 Saturday evening inside Lee Arena.

The first quarter went back and forth for the first three minutes before junior Deb Holcomb hit a three to put the Lions up five at 11-6 with 6:45 left in the period. Washburn answered right back with a three of their own from Haley Pfau and the teams again traded buckets until a layup from Erika Lane gave the Ichabods a 16-15 lead with just over a minute left. A pair of free throws from WU's Erin Dohnalek put the Ichabods up 18-15 headed into the quarter break.

Washburn's lead expanded to six on another three from Pfau a minute into the second quarter before sophomores Dru Clark hit a layup and Kayla Kivinski sank a free throw to pull the Lions back within three at 21-18 with 7:13 left until halftime. A jumper from senior Sharese Jones followed by a three pointer from sophomore Jenson Maydew gave the game its second tie at 23-23 with 4:35 left before Dohnalek re-gained the lead for Washburn with a three of her own. Washburn went up by four, 31-27, on a free throw from Cindy Demosthene but Kivinski's lay-up with just under a minute left cut the Lions' deficit to two heading into the locker room.

Both teams shot 47 percent from the field during the first half with Southern going 11-for-23 and Washburn 10-for-21. Washburn had the edge in the three point range going 6-for-10 to the Lions' 4-for-9. The Ichabods also out rebounded Southern 13-11 in the first half. Holcomb led the Lions with eight points and four rebounds in the first half, while Jones added seven points. Washburn was led by Lane with eight points and Pfau with six.

The second half started with a Holcomb jumper to tie the game at 31-31 but back-to-back lay-ups from Washburn's Jayna Smith and Alyxis Bowens gave the Ichabods another four point lead before Maydew drained her second three of the night to cut the lead down to one, 35-34, at the 7:28 mark. Another layup from Bowens made it 37-34 before Holcomb tied the game for a fourth time at 37-37 with a three of her own with 6:20 to play. Washburn would lead by five three more times in the third before Jones got in on the long distance party to make it 50-48 Washburn with 1:46 left in the third. Following an Ichabod layup Clark nailed a three to get the Lions with one, 52-51, with 55 seconds left in the quarter. A layup from Bowens made it 54-51 before a technical foul was called on the Lions bench with eight seconds left in the quarter. WU's Lane would hit only one of the two freebies as Washburn led 55-51 heading into the final quarter.

The technical seemed to spark the Lions offense as they used a 16-2 run to start the fourth to take the lead for good at 66-57 on a layup from Jones with 4:35 to play. Washburn cut the lead to four at 67-63 on a three pointer from Lane with 2:46 left to play, but Southern answered right back with a layup of their own from sophomore Bri Shavers to push the lead back to six. Jones and senior Tami Morice sank a pair of free throws each in the game's final minute to seal the 73-67 road win for Southern.

Washburn out shot the Lions 51 percent (25-for-49) to 50 percent (23-for-46) on the night while Southern turned the rebounding tally around and finished with a plus five, 27-22. Both teams hit 10 three points but the difference in the game was at the charity stripe. Washburn got to the line just 11 times, hitting seven, while the Lions stepped to the line 20 times draining 17. Jones led the way for Southern with 24 points going 7-for-12 from the field (2-2 from three point range) and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Holcomb added 23 points going 8-for-15 from the field including 5-for-8 from downtown and 2-2 from the free throw line. Both Jones and Holcomb led Southern on the glass with seven rebounds each. Senior Kenya Wilson-Brown added two assists to her team leading 93 to go along with four steals. Washburn was led by Lane with 19 points and Bowens chipped in 12. Demosthene led the Ichabods on the boards with seven.

The Lions will be back in action this Thursday as they host the Lopers from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Tip off on Robert Corn Court inside The Leggett & Platt Athletic Center is scheduled for 5:30 p.m..