Maryville, Mo. – Three score in double figures as Missouri Southern Women's Basketball comes away with an 86-76 win over Northwest Missouri Thursday night inside Bearcat Arena.
 
Missouri Southern (9-5, 4-1 MIAA) led by senior Deb Holcomb with 19 points, 12 in the fourth quarter, with sophomores Chelsey Henry adding 14 and Desirea Buerge with 13.
 
Northwest Missouri (5-7, 0-5 MIAA) was led by Jasmin Howe with 33 points while Mallory McAndrews added 14 and Arbrie Benson had 13 points.
 
Southern trailed for only the second time, in conference play, after the first quarter as Northwest Missouri used a 7-0 run to take a 14-11 lead with 3:53 left in the quarter and held on for the 21-17 advantage after the opening period.
 
The Lions opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run with a three from Holcomb and five points from junior Bri Shavers-McNeace to take a four-point lead at 25-21. NWMSU used a 5-0 run to take a 29-27 lead with 6:45 before halftime. Buerge drove the lane for a bucket to tie it at 29-29, and on the next possession she hit a turnaround jumper in the paint off an offensive rebound to give the Lions a 31-29 lead as Southern held on to that lead for the remaining 5:41 to take a 43-39 lead into the locker room.
 
Northwest Missouri used a three-point play to cut the Lions halftime lead to one, 43-42, to start the third quarter. Holcomb hit a 17-foot jumper to extend the lead back to three at the 7:57 mark. A three pointer from Henry a minute later gave Southern their largest lead of the night at 48-42. A pair of free throws from senior Amelia Bramer made it an eight point Lions lead, 59-51 with just under two minutes left in the quarter. Southern took a 61-57 lead into the fourth.
 
After a bucket from the Bearcats' Benson cut the lead down to two at 61-59, Southern went on a 6-0 run four from Holcomb and a bucket from Henry to push the lead back to eight, 67-59 with 7:49 to play. An old fashioned three-point play from Holcomb with 4:36 left gave the Lions a nine-point lead, 74-65, with just over four and half to play. Southern held on down the stretch for the 86-76 win inside Bearcat Arena.
 
The Lions out shot Northwest Missouri 55.4 percent, 31-for-56, to 53.8 percent, 28-for-52, from the field. The Bearcats hit 44.4 percent, 12-for-27, from long range, but Southern went 18-for-27 from the free throw line while NWMSU only had 13 attempts while making eight. Sophomore Jenson Maydew added nine points for Southern while Shavers-McNeace and Bramer added eight each and junior Julianna Wadsworth added seven points.
 
The Lions will be back in action on Saturday as they travel to St. Joseph, Missouri for a 2 p.m. tilt with Missouri Western inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.