Joplin, Mo. – After dropping two Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) games in a row, the Missouri Southern State University Lions are set to take on the Northeastern State University Riverhawks in Wednesday night.
Game Information
Date: January 29, 2020
Tip-Off: 5:30 PM
Location: Joplin, Mo.
Site: Robert Corn Court (LPAC)
Series: NSU leads, 17-15
Media Coverage
MSSU Radio: Fox Sports Joplin 101.3, 107.9 and AM 1560; 88.7 FM KXMS
Audio: https://radio.securenetsystems.net/v5/index.cfm?stationCallSign=WMBH
Webcast: https://www.themiaanetwork.com/mssulions
Live Stats: http://www.mssulions.com
Lions on the Prowl
MSSU enters Wednesday's contest with a 5-12 overall record and an 2-7 MIAA record. The Lions are looking to get back on the winning side of things as they fell in their last two games at Central Missouri and Pittsburg State.
Destiny Cozart (14.4),
Chasidee Owens (15.8) and
Zoe Campbell (10.8) pace the Lions as the three players who average double digit scoring in the 17 games this season. Campbell leads the team in rebounds per game (7.9) and blocks (47).
Riverhawks Within Reach
Northeastern State enters Wednesday's game with a 5-13 record and a 3-8 conference record as they sit one spot, percentage points, ahead of MSSU in the MIAA standings. The RiverHawks have dropped seven of their last eight contests.
Double Trouble from Riverhawks
NSU is led by two players, Cenia Hayes and Shae Sanchez, who lead the Riverhawks with double figures in the contest. They average 15.2 and 13.6 points per game, respectively. Hayes siting seventh in the MIAA with her points per game average while her 274 points this season have her sitting in sixth in the conference.
Stop the Polls
The Lions were picked to finish 9th in the MIAA after going 14-16 overall and 6-13 in MIAA play during the 2018-19 campaign. Defending Conference Campions Fort Hays State was picked to win the MIAA with 10 first-place votes while Central Missouri received the other four first-place vote and was picked second. Washburn (3), Pittsburg State (4), and Emporia State (5) rounded out the top-5.
Send It Back
One goal that coach Ressel set for the Lions heading into the season was to improve on defense. Thus far as opponents try to shoot from the paint, the Lions have been preventing many shots from even reaching the rim with 94 combined blocks and a 5.53 average per contest for 12th and seventh in the nation, respectively. Both marks also place them first among MIAA programs with Central Missouri trailing by 18 (76) in second.
Front and Center... and Sending it Back
After observing as a freshman and figuring things out on the court as a sophomore, junior center
Zoe Campbell from Caloundra, Australia has become a force in the front court. Campbell ranks 12th nationally in total blocks (47) and 10th in blocks per game (2.79) while leading the MIAA in both categories. Earlier this month, she second in all-time in career blocks (98), just 11 away from the all-time record of 109 by Caryn Schumaker (87-91). She now has the top single-season mark in MSSU history by passing Brianna Volmer (2005-06) who had 42. She set the school record for blocks in one game (7) at Harding. She is also sixth in the MIAA in rebounds per game (7.9) with 96 defensive to push her third in the league.
Take the Long Way Home
Another dimension on the defense that MSSU wanted to sure up was around the perimeter and the team has certainly done its job by limiting opponents to 31.0-clip on 348 attempts from three-point range, which ranks seventh in the MIAA at three-point field-goal defense. The Lions defense is ranked fifth in total field-goal defense by holding opponents to 38.3 percent shooting from the field on 1,076 attempts.
Second From Three
In her second year at Southern, senior
Destiny Cozart has earned the sharpshooter medal for the Lions as she has hit 47 treys on the season to sit in a tie for third in the MIAA. She was fire in the final 30 seconds of January's contest at Nebraska Kearney as she hit three triples in a 21 second span. Her 32.2 percent from deep has her fourth in the MIAA as she averages 2.8 triples per game.
