Joplin, Mo. – After a solid well-rounded win over Northeastern State (59-50) on Wednesday (Jan. 29) the Missouri Southern State University Women's Basketball team will look to win their second straight game on Saturday (Feb. 1) when they host Rogers State University for the second match up between the two teams (Nov. 23; W, 75-56) on the season and third ever.
Game Information
Date: February 1, 2020
Tip-Off: 1:30 PM
Location: Joplin, Mo.
Site: Robert Corn Court (LPAC)
Series: MSSU leads series 2-0
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 Saturday's contest with a 6-12 overall record and an 3-7 MIAA record. Southern will look to move their winning streak up to two games after earning a hard fought 59-50 win over Northeastern State on Wednesday night.
Destiny Cozart (14.1),
Chasidee Owens (15.3) and
Zoe Campbell (10.7) 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 (7.8) and blocks (50).
Hillcats Seek to Stop Skid
Rogers State, a new team in the MIAA has dropped 17 of their last 18 contests as they enter Saturday's match up with a 3-18 record and a 1-11 MIAA record. This will be the first conference matchup between these two teams as the Nov. 23 contest (MSSU won 56-75) was a non-conference clash. The Hillcats' last win came on Saturday (Jan. 25) when they defeated Lincoln 99-75 at home in Claremore, Okla.
Looking For a Leader
Rogers State is a well-balanced team without any players really pulling away from the others. No players average double digit scoring on the season but Vanessa Gajosova leads the Hillcats with her 194 points (9.2 per game) showing. Alicia Brown is close behind as she averages 9.1 points per game and Lilly Garner averages 8.3 per game.
Gojosova is the leading deep threat as she has converted on 21-of-26 (.366) from beyond the arch.
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 102 combined blocks and a 5.7 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 24(78) 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 11th nationally in total blocks (50) and 10th in blocks per game (2.78) while leading the MIAA in both categories. Earlier this month, she moved into second in all-time in career blocks (101), just eight 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 eighth in the MIAA in rebounds per game (7.8) with 98 defensive to push her fourth 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 361 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 1,132 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 48 treys on the season to sit in fourth 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 31.4 percent from deep has her fourth in the MIAA as she averages 2.7 triples per game.
