Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern women's basketball team concluded the final day of the GAC/MIAA Challenge hosted by the Lions with an overtime thriller falling just short 87-81 behind a Lacy Stokes' 21 point game.
 
The Lions (0-2) were led by true freshman point guard Stokes who finished with a team-high 21 points (10-13 free throws), while having game-highs with eight assists and three steals to go with seven rebounds and a blocked shot in 42 minutes of play. Redshirt freshman guard Kaitlin Hunnicutt scored a career-high 16 points (4-9 from three) while grabbing three rebounds and dishing out three assists as well. Junior guard/forward Layne Skiles scored 16 points as well (3-3 free throws) and pulled down 10 rebounds for her first career double-double. Junior forward Amaya Johns and Redshirt freshman forward Anna Hall chipped in with 11 points each with Hall's being a new career-best.
 
Harding (1-1) was led by Hannah Collins with 22 points, Jacie Evans had 20 points and Sage Hawley had 18 points and 13 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Aubrey Isbell led all bench scorers with 17 points.
 
The game began with a bang the Lions scored on their first two possessions to take a 5-2 lead with 9:22 remaining in the quarter. Harding responded with a 10-3 run that was capped off by an Evans layup with 5:35 to make it 12-8 in favor of the Bison. Hunnicutt would get the lions to within one (12-11) thanks to connecting on her first three of the game that was assisted by Stokes with 5:27 left in the quarter.
 
Harding began the second quarter with a 6-2 run to stretch its lead to 11 (28-17) with 5:59 remaining in the first half. A Bisons' technical foul resulted in a Stokes' four-for-four from the free throw line to close out the first half with Harding ahead 39-27.
 
The Lions chipped away at the Bisons' lead with a 11-0 run in the third quarter that was capped off by a Johns jumper from a Hunnicutt feed with 5:58 to make it within five (43-38). The Bison responded with a 10-0 run to stretch the lead to 17 with 1:42 remaining in the third quarter before Missouri Southern ended the quarter on an 8-0 run that was capped off by a buzzer beating layup from Skiles that was assisted by Stokes' to end the quarter down 57-48.
 
Stokes' started the Lions' 7-2 run that trimmed the lead to four (59-55) and was capped off by a Hunnicutt three from a Hall assist with 8:23 remaining in the fourth quarter. A 6-0 run in the middle of the quarter cut the lead to three (66-63) after a Hall layup with 4:22 left. Stokes' connected on a pull up jumper with 1:47 left in regulation before graduate guard Brooke Stauffer made a layup with 1:01 left from a Stokes' feed to tie the game up for the first tie or lead for the Lions since 6:57 left in the first quarter (8-8).
 
Harding got a clutch basket from Hawley on a layup with 35 seconds remaining to take a two-point lead before Stokes' matched her with a floater with 23 seconds left to tie it up. The last possession in regulation resulted in a missed step-through layup form Collins that was rebounded by Evans who upon review shot the ball with time expired to send the game into an overtime period tied 75 all.
 
Evans scored on Harding's first possession with Stokes' responding by making a pair of free throws with 3:55 left in the overtime period. The Bison went on a 8-2 run following the free throws and never relinquished the lead to win 87-81.
 
As a team, the Lions made more three's (8-4), had more rebounds (40-39), assists (14-13) and had a 20-16 advantage in points off turnovers.

Up next for the Lions will be Missouri S&T in Rolla, Mo. with tip-off from Gibson Arena on November, 20^th at 1:30 pm.