Searcy, Ark. – The 19
th ranked Missouri Southern women's basketball program got a stellar performance from
Madi Stokes and won 74-59 against Henderson State to begin the MIAA/GAC Challenge inside Rhodes-Reaves Field House.
The #19/6 Lions (3-0) were led by Madi with 22 points going 10-of-17 from the field while adding 17 rebounds (seven offensive) and four blocks in just 23 minutes.
Lacy Stokes chipped in with 18 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals and
Amaya Johns poured in 12 points going 4-of-6 from the field and from free throws while grabbing six rebounds.
Layne Skiles finished with nine points and nine rebounds with
Kaitlin Hunnicutt coming away with a career-high six assists as well.
For Henderson State (0-1), Abbie Jiles had 21 points going 8-of-24 from the field to go with seven rebounds. Ashley Farrar was the other Reddie to score in double figures with 14 points, Sonni Martin and Jadah Pickens each had three assists as well.
A fast start was on the Lions menu to begin the game as the first four possessions resulted in four made baskets and four assists. The first quarter lead would get as big as 14 (20-6) following a Skiles three from
Hailey Grant with 2:33 remaining before ending the quarter up 21-10.
In the second quarter the Lions saw their lead cut to six (21-15) with 8:54 remaining following a quick 5-0 run by the Reddies to begin the quarter. The Southern lead would again reach double figures following a second chance
Madi Stokes layup with 6:44 made it 28-15 for the largest lead of the quarter, the Lions would head into halftime up 32-23.
The third quarter was tight with Henderson State getting within one (36-35) with 6:21 before the Lions went on a 7-0 run capped off by a Johns layup and-one with 5:24 for the 43-37 lead. Late in the quarter the Reddies would tie it 48-48 with 40 seconds left but a pair of free throws by
Lacy Stokes put the Lions ahead to conclude the quarter.
Madi Stokes took over in the fourth quarter accounting for 12 points and six rebounds to lead the charge with the Lions scoring 24 points in the quarter, tied for the most this season (2
nd quarter vs. #23 Lubbock Christian Nov. 5
th).
In the fourth quarter the Lions would stretch the lead back up to double figures (64-53) following a Stokes' connection (Lacy-to-Madi) with 5:12 left and would not look back from there. Southern would get the lead up to 15 three times in the last two minutes of play to coast to a 74-59 final.
As a team the Lions won the battle in field goal percentage (43.9-34.3), free throws made (21-7), offensive rebounds (16-14), total rebounds (46-33), assists (18-10), blocks (5-2), second chane points (19-7), points in the paint (36-34) and fast break points (12-11) while never relinquishing the lead and only having one tie during the game.
Up next will be Harding tomorrow who received votes in the WBCA and D2SIDA preseason polls and are hosts of this season's MIAA/GAC Challenge. Tip-off is set for 6:00pm from Rhodes-Reaves Field House to conclude the tournament for both teams.
The Missouri Southern women's basketball season is presented by People's Bank of Seneca, a proud supporter of Lion Athletics.
