Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern women's basketball program pushed No. 10 Nebraska - Kearney to the brink but ultimately couldn't beat the Lopers, falling 58-56 inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center in the annual Pink Game on Thursday.

The Lions (21-6, 13-6 MIAA) were led by Madi Stokes with 13 points and eight rebounds to go with two blocks, Kaitlin Hunnicutt added 12 points as Amaya Johns led the bench with nine points and six rebounds. 

Nebraska - Kearney (25-3, 18-2 MIAA) was led by Shiloh McCool with 17 points, Klaire Kirsch grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and scored eight points.

In the first quarter the Lopers jumped out to an 18-4 lead with 3:09 left in the quarter that ended up being a 12 point lead at the conclusion of the quarter, 19-7. The Lions got rolling in the start of the second quarter with a quick 6-2 run making it an eight point game, 21-13 with 7:05 left in the half. Southern would end out the second quarter with an 10-5 run to make it a three point game heading into the half, 26-23.

For the first half the Lions shot 34.6 percent from the field with Lacy Stokes leading the scoring with six points. UNK in the first half shot 35.5 percent from the field with Shiloh McCool having a team-high eight points.

Southern cut the lead down to two (30-28) with 7:02 left thanks to a Stokes-Stokes connection with Madi scoring her sixth point of the game. The Lopers responded with a 14-6 run to push the lead up to ten but a Johns driving layup with 25 seconds left made it 44-36 heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter the Lions used a quick 6-0 run to make it a one point game (51-50) with 3:10 left following a pair of Kryslyn Jones free throws. With 2:01 left the Lions tied it up 54-54, thanks to a pair of Hunnicutt free throws and then again with 1:15 left Jones made a pair of free throws to tie it at 56-56.

The Lopers would claim a defensive rebound with 23 second left and score with five seconds left but missed the and-one free throw to make it a 58-56 advantage for the visitors. Southern would advance the ball with 4.5 seconds left after calling a timeout and got up a shot before the buzzer but couldn't convert the attempt.

Up next for the Lions will be Fort Hays State on Saturday with tip-off set for 1:30pm inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. Southern will honor its three seniors, Amaya Johns, Cameron Call and Layne Skiles during a ceremony at halftime of the men's game. Read Full Article