Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern women's basketball program closed the week with an 86-63 win over Emporia State this evening inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

The Lions (10-5, 7-3 MIAA) were led by true freshman guard Lacy Stokes with 16 points going 6-of-6 from free throws while grabbing six rebounds and providing five assists. Sophomore center Madi Stokes had her third double-double of the season her 12th in her career scoring 15 points and pulling down a season-high 12 rebounds and blocked four shots as well. Junior guard/forward Layne Skiles added 14 points and nine rebounds along with Amaya Johns scoring 11 points off the bench and coming away with nine rebounds.

Emporia State (9-7, 4-6 MIAA) was led by Fredricka Sheats with 14 points off the bench, last season's MIAA Player of the Year Tre'zure Jobe had 11 points and Victoria Price had 10 points to round out the double-digit scorers for the Lady Hornets. Karsen Schultz led the team with ten rebounds while adding eight points as well.
 
In the first possession for the Lions, redshirt freshman guard Kaitlin Hunnicutt drained a three from a Madi Stokes assist that began the end-to-end win for Southern. Graduate guard Brooke Stauffer drained a three in the second possession for the Lions with Hunnicutt getting the assist, jumpstarting a quarter that saw the Lions score 24 points and shot 52.9 percent from the field.
 
Emporia State got off to a 5-2 run in the beginning of the second quarter to trim the Lion lead to ten (26-16) before a 12-2 run capped off by a Johns and-one with 4:49 left made it 38-18. Heading into the half Southern lead 45-25 with Lacy Stokes leading the charge with ten points and Madi Stokes having nine points and six rebounds as the Lions shot 43.2 percent from the field in the half. 
 
The third quarter saw both teams trade baskets before the Lady Hornets went on a 7-3 run in the quarter to close the deficit to 17 (57-40) with 2:59 left. A pair of Lacy Stokes and Madi Stokes free throws ended the scoring for the Lions in the quarter with the lead 61-44 with both Stokes' getting into double figures in the game in the quarter.
 
A 10-5 run to begin the fourth quarter had the Lions ahead 71-49 following a pair of Lacy Stokes free throws, with the Lady Hornets responded with a 7-4 run capped off by a Kali Martin layup assisted by Schultz at 4:38 made it 75-56 Lions. 
 
Tightening their grip on the game and putting it away for good, the Lions responded with an 11-3 run, making it 86-59 after a Johns free throw. At the final buzzer the Lions came away victorious 86-63, the third largest point deficit in the series history and for the first time since 2003-04 that the Lions beat Washburn and Emporia State in back-to-back games.
 
As a team, the Lions finished with a better field goal percentage (38.7-29.9), three-point percentage (33.3-26.3), made more free throws (20-7), and collected more rebounds. (52-51), dished out more assists (20-12), had more steals (7-3), while forcing the Lady Hornets into 13 turnovers and scored 15 points off the turnovers, dominated the paint (36-26), and had more second chance points (15-11). 
 
Up next for the Lions is a road trip to the far northwest corner of the MIAA to face off with the #2 team in Division II Fort Hays State on Thursday before going to #16 Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday. Both teams post 9-1 conference records and both have one home loss this season so far. Tip-off from Gross memorial Coliseum is set for 5:30 pm on Thursday and tip from the Health & Sports Center in Kearney is set for 2:00 pm on Saturday.