Edmond, Okla. – The Missouri Southern Lions have done it! A dramatic 71-68 win on the road against Central Oklahoma and the Lions are the MIAA regular season champions for the first time in program history.
 
The Lions (22-5, 19-3 MIAA) were led by Lacy Stokes with 28 points while adding seven assists and four rebounds. Amaya Johns had 12 points off the bench and had five rebounds, Layne Skiles had 10 points and six rebounds, Madi Stokes had eight points to go with six rebounds and two blocks. Brooke Stauffer added seven points and two steals along with Hailey Grant scoring four and grabbing six rebounds off the bench. 
 
In Southern single-season ranks Lacy is first in assist-turnover ratio at 3.58, second in assists per game with 5.7, third in assists with 154, fifth in steals with 86, seventh in points per game with 19.4 and is tenth in single-season scoring with 523 points. Among freshman ranks Lacy is first in all those categories previously listed but in assists and assists per game she ranks second.
 
Central Oklahoma (16-12, 12-10 MIAA) was led by Kelsey Johnson in her final game inside Hamilton Field House, finishing with 18 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Brooke Rayner scored 12 points and Aliyah Llanusa had 11 points. Avery Allen led the Bronchos with six assists and Caley Young led the bench scoring for UCO with six points.
 
Central Oklahoma won the tip and scored on the first possession before a 8-0 run by the Lions in two minutes made it 8-2 with 7:06 left in the first quarter following a Stauffer pull up jumper in the paint. The Lions and Bronchos exchanged run until Southern closed the quarter with a Skiles three for a 17-13 lead. 
 
The second quarter saw Central Oklahoma jump out to a 7-1 run retaking the lead 20-18 with 8:34 left in the half on a Johnson and-one. Southern responded with a 8-1 run over a minute and a half period that was capped off by a driving layup by Lacy Stokes with 6:47 left in the second quarter, making it 26-21. 
 
A 11-2 run by the Bronchos opened up a four point lead for them 32-28 with 4:27 left in the half following a Ginger Reece layup. Lacy Stokes hit a pair of free throws and a Madi Stokes layup that was assisted by Lacy cut the lead down to two (34-32) with 2:33 remaining. 
 
UCO got a six point lead (39-33) with 1:24 left in the first half following a Young pull up jumper that was assisted by Reece to cap off a quick 5-1 run. By the halftime buzzer the Bronchos held a 43-35 advantage over the Lions and had just shot 68.8 percent from the field and scored 30 points in the quarter.
 
The biggest lead of the game by either team happened with 9:24 left in the third quarter following a Broncho layup making it 45-35. Southern responded with three made three's to make it 45-44 with 7:16 left in the quarter and drew a UCO timeout. 
 
Central Oklahoma got the lead back up to seven (53-46) with 4:46 left in the third quarter off a Johnson jumper that was assisted by Allen to cap a 8-2 run by the Bronchos. The Lions responded with a 8-2 run of their own making it a one point lead again (55-54) with 1:16 left following a Skiles layup that was assisted by Madi Stokes.
 
Both teams leading scorers scored with less than a minute to go as UCO held a slim 57-56 advantage heading to the fourth quarter. With her last layup to close the scoring in the third quarter Lacy Stokes had 21 points for her sixth straight game scoring 20 or more and her 13^th game overall this season.
 
The Lions grabbed their first lead of the second half and the first since it five minutes left in the first half with a Skiles layup assisted by Lacy Stokes and made it a three point lead (60-57) with 8:26 left in the fourth quarter follow a made layup by Lacy. Southern made it a four point lead (66-62) with 5:38 left in regulation following a Grant driving layup.
 
UCO responded on their next possession as Rayner nailed a three that was assisted by Llanusa before Grant made her second layup in consecutive possessions this time being assisted by Lacy Stokes to make it 68-65 with 4:43 left. The Lions and Bronchos defenses locked down each other over the next four minutes of game time with neither team being able to make a shot or draw a shooting foul for free throws. 
 
The scoring breakthrough happened following a missed shot by Southern as UCO got a team rebound and called a timeout to advance the ball, on the ensuing Broncho possession Karly Wadsowrth sank a three with 23.1 second left tying it up 68-68. Southern turned to Lacy Stokes once again in a clutch situation with the ball in her hand denied a ball screen by Madi Stokes and shot a step back three over an onrushing Kelsey Johnson that found the bottom of the net with 3.0 left on the clock. UCO inbounded the ball and without any timeouts failed to muster up a shot or advance the ball for an inbounds play.
 
The Lions had battled back from a ten point deficit to begin the second half to win 71-68 and achieve something that no other Missouri Southern women's basketball program had achieved in MIAA play a MIAA regular season title being named Co-Champions with Fort Hays State. 
 
As a team the Lions held the advantage over UCO in field goal percentage (43.3-39.1), three's made (5-4), free throws made (14-10) while tying in steals (6-6) and bench points (16-16).
 
The Lions have set a new benchmark for MIAA wins in a single-season at the school with 19 blowing out the old record of 15 from the 2010-11 season. The 15 game win streak in MIAA play broke the previous school record of nine straight MIAA wins set in the 1993-94 season before being replicated the next season. 
 
With 22 wins on the season this year's team now is tied for the fifth most in a single season and is the most wins since the 1995-96 season. The 15 game winning streak the Lions are currently on is the second longest in school history just one away from the 16 straight wins the 1992-93 season achieved. 
 
The Lions will be the number one seed in the MIAA Postseason Tournament and will await the winner of the Pittsburg State and Washburn game to play against on Thursday March 3^rd at Noon inside the Historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.