Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern women's basketball program ran away 92-55 winners against McKendree this afternoon inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center as four Lions scored in double figures.

Missouri Southern (6-2, 3-0 MIAA) was led by sophomore center Madi Stokes from the bench with a game-high and a new season-high 19 points shooting 9-of-13 from the field while also grabbing five rebounds and swatting three shots away. Sophomore guard Cameron Call added 13 points off the bench shooting 5-of-7, 3-of-4 from three. Redshirt freshman guard Kaitlin Hunnicutt added 11 points shooting 4-of-7 from the field, 3-of-4 from three and junior forward Amaya Johns had 10 points going 3-of-6 from the field and 4-of-4 from free throws. 

Redshirt freshman guard/forward Hailey Grant had career-highs with seven assists and hauled in 10 rebounds while also blocking three shots. True freshman guards Maleigha Landers, and Lacy Stokes had season-highs with Landers scoring nine points going 3-of-6 from three while Stokes came away with eight points shooting 3-of-4, 2-of-2 from three and came away with five steals.

McKendree (1-8, 0-3 GLVC) was led by Madison Jones with 15 points off the bench while Christy Fortune had 10 points to lead the starters. Kaelyn Froebe came away with a team-high eight rebounds and Erin Golden had eight points and a team-high three assists.

The Lions jumped out to a 4-0 lead following a graduate guard Brooke Stuaffer layup and Johns connecting on a layup from a Stauffer feed with 9:06 remaining before the Bearcats got on the board with 8:35 left in the first quarter. A 6-0 run capped by Call converting on a step back three with 1:46 remaining in the quarter pushed the Lions' lead to 25-7 the largest of the quarter. Redshirt freshman forward Anna Hall ended the quarter with two free throws making it 27-10 after the first quarter.

The Bearcats began the second quarter on a 6-5 run to cut the lead in half at 32-16 with 7:16 to go, before the Lions responded with a 10-2 run over the next couple minutes to lead 42-18 with 3:15 left in the first half. 

Southern went into the intermission up 47-20 as the Lions shot 55.9 percent from the field and had connected on five three's while limiting McKendree to 26.7 percent from the field and was 0-7 from three in the half.

The Lions jumped out on a 12-2 run that was capped off by a Lacy Stokes' pull up three with 7:14 remaining in the third quarter making it 59-22. The largest lead of the game came with 23 seconds remaining in the quarter as true freshman guard Mia Topping converted on a three from fellow true freshman guard Brittney Flexer making it 76-33 (43 points).

Early in the fourth quarter, McKendree had a 7-0 run that Ashley Schloer capped with two free throws making it 76-40 in favor of the Lions. Madi Stokes finalized the scoring for both teams converting an and-one with 27 seconds remaining for the final score of 92-55.

The win was the sixth-straight for the Lions and marks the best eight-game start to a season under Ronnie Ressel and the second-longest win streak under his tenure. It was also the first game the Lions eclipsed 90 points since December 5, 2020 against Rogers State (Lions won 96-85). The game is also the second-most the Lions have won a game by under Ressel's direction only behind the Lions' 100-44 win over Graceland on December 30, 2017.

Up next for the Lions is the Jennies of Central Missouri. Tip-off from Robert Corn Court inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center is set for 5:30 pm on Thursday December 16^th.