Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern women's basketball program picked up it's sixth straight win tonight, beating Newman 76-46 inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

The Lions (18-4, 10-4 MIAA) were led by Kaitlin Hunnicutt with 19 points as she went 4-of-6 from three. Lacy Stokes was the other Lion to score in double figures, finishing with 14 points, six assists and four steals in 24 minutes. Amaya Johns led the bench with six points and eight rebounds tonight in 15 minutes. 

Newman ((6-12, 3-10 MIAA) was led by Amiyah Josey with 10 points while Valerija Liokina had eight points and a team-high nine rebounds off the bench as well. 

As a team the Lions held the advantage over the Jets in field goal percentage 35.2-23.6, free throws made 12-18, free throw percentage 90.0-63.2, rebounds 53-41, offensive rebounds 17-11, defensive rebounds 36-30, assists 16-8, steals 8-5, blocks 5-3, points off turnovers 18-9, points in the paint 32-8, second chance points 11-9 and fast break points 15-1 while holding a lead for 37:53 of the game.

In the first quarter Southern got out to a 6-0 lead following a Hunnicutt fast break layup with 7:28 before an 8-0 Newman run saw them claim teh lead with 6:00 left in the quarter. The Lions were the first team to twenty with a Madi Stokes layup at 1:52 that started a 7-0 run to end the quarter up 25-16.

The second quarter saw the Lions use another 6-0 run to open the quarter for a 31-16 advantage following a pair of free throws by Kryslyn Jones at 6:35. Newman would score next with a pair of free throws but for the quarter they scored three points compared to the Lions 15 as the teams went into the half with a 40-19 score line.

To begin the third quarter the Lions used a 12-0 run capped off by a Lacy Stokes driving layup with 6:29 to make it 52-19 for the largest lead of the game so far. Newman would start to score more frequently in the quarter but no sustained runs were able to form as the Lions held onto a 63-40 lead going into the fourth quarter.

On the first possession of the quarter Hunnicutt would score her 19th point of the night on a driving layup and-one to begin a 7-0 run by the Lions in the fourth. Both teams would empty out their benches with a little over three minutes to go as the Lions coasted to a 76-46 win.

Up next for the Lions will be Central Oklahoma to close out the week at home inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center on Saturday, tip off is slated for 1:30pm. 

The Missouri Southern women's basketball season is presented by People's Bank of Seneca, a proud supporter of Lion Athletics. Read Full Article