Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern Women's Basketball team heads to St. Joseph for an afternoon matchup against the Griffons of Missouri Western inside MWSU Fieldhouse on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Game Information
Date: Saturday January 7, 2017
Tip-Off: 2:00 pm
Location: St. Joseph, Mo.
Site: MWSU Fieldhouse at Looney Complex
Series Record: MWSU leads, 51-32 *
*3 wins for MWSU vacated by NCAA (2005-06, 06-07)

Media Coverage
MSSU Radio: ESPN Joplin/Lions Sports Network
Internet Audio: mssulions.com
Webcast: portal.stretchinternet.com/mssu/
Live Stats: sidearmstats.com/missouri/wbball

The Series
This is the 87th meeting between the sister schools, with Missouri Western holding a 51-32 advantage in the series. Three MWSU wins in the 05-06 and 06-07 seasons were vacated by the NCAA. The Lions were swept by Missour Western last season with both losses coming by a combined total of three points, 63-61 in St. Joseph and 71-70 in Joplin. The longest winning streak for Missouri Western is 12 games from Jan. 13, 1997 thru Feb. 27, 2002 and Southern's longest winning streak was eight games, Feb. 6, 2010 thru Feb. 15, 2014.  Southern holds a 23-18 advantage over their sister school in Joplin and have won seven of the last eight inside The Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. However, the Lions have struggled at MWSU winning only eight times since the series started in 1977. The Lions are 9-3 against Missouri Western in the current decade, that is the best start of any decade in series history. 

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.

Missouri Western
Since becoming the eighth head coach in the history of the program, Rob Edmisson has went 68-44. Ten of his players have earned All-MIAA status. In 2015-16 LaQuinta Jefferson was named MIAA Player of the Year along with picking up two All-American team selections and one All-Region selection. Missouri Western has reached the postseason in three of Edmisson's first four years with the program's first NCAA Regional bid since 2004 coming in 2015-16.

Probable Starters
 Missouri Southern (9-5, 4-1 MIAA)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG Assists Steals Hometown
2 Shannon Mitchell F 6-1 So. 3.8 3.4 14 6 Seligman, Mo.
15 Chelsey Henry G 5-10 So. 10.9 4.1 18 12 Neosho, Mo.
21 Desirea Buerge F 6-0 So. 11.5 6.0 7 18 Webb City, Mo.
23 Amelia Bramer G 5-10 R-Sr. 6.2 2.1 25 13 Mt. Vernon, Mo.
24 Deb Holcomb G 5-7 Sr. 16.6 3.1 29 18 Dallas, Texas

Missouri Western (11-3, 3-2 MIAA)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG Assists Steals Hometown
1 Dwanisha Tate G 5-10 Sr. 11.8 4.0 24 22 Arlington, Texas
10 Melia Richardson G 5-4 So. 4.3 1.7 31 19 Cameron, Mo.
15 Sefulu Faavae G 5-9 Sr. 9.0 3.6 58 44 Hilo, Hawaii
22 Chelsea Dewey G 5-8 Sr. 11.6 3.3 62 16 Gower, Mo.
33 Julia Torres F 6-3 Jr. 8.8 7.0 21 33 Sao Paulo, Brazil

Last Time Out
Missouri Southern
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. 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 clawed back with 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. From there Southern never looked back as they led the rest of the way for the 86-76 win in Bearcat Arena on Thursday evening.

Missouri Western
It was a game of runs, and back-and-forth, dominant quarters with No. 6-ranked Pittsburg State dominating the final quarter for a 57-43 win over Missouri Western Thursday night. 
 NOTABLES
- First time losing back-to-back MIAA home games since 2015 (Emporia State and Pittsburg State)
- Pittsburg State closed the game on a 15-5 run, outscoring the Griffons 17-8 in the fourth quarter
- 16-3 run by MWSU to open the third quarter gave Missouri Western the lead with 4:11 left in the third
- Pittsburg State closed the first half on a 12-0 run to take an 11-point lead to the break
- Missouri Western's top three scorers entering the game (Dwanisha Tate, Chelsea Dewey and Julia Torres) went 4-24 from the field and scored 10 total points
- Missouri Western limited Pittsburg State to 39.6% from the field and 57 points. The Gorillas entered averaging 45.1% and 782 points
 TOP PERFORMERS
- Sefulu Faavae scored a team-high 15 points to go with her team-high four steals
- Melia Richardson scored a season-high 11 points
- Chelsea Dewey and Erin Anderson each had five rebounds, most on the team
- Madison Northcutt led all scorers with 25 points and added 11 rebounds for Pittsburg State

Quick Notes
Dialing Long Distance
The Lions have made a three pointer in 480 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 460 straight games without allowing 100+ points.

Leading At The Half
The Lions led the game at the half in 7 of 14 games this season and are 7-0 in those games.

Sharp Shooting
Southern is 7-0 when out shooting their opponents this season.

Glass Cleaners
The Lions, as a team has out rebounded 8 of their 14 opponents this season and are 6-2 in those contests.

Friendly Confines of LPAC
Southern is 157-60 inside The Leggett & Platt Athletic Center since the 2001-02 season. 

Picking Pockets
When the Lions have more steals than their opponents they are 5-2 this season.

Supporting cast
Southern's bench  has outscored their opponents eight times this season and the Lions are 7-1 in those contests.