Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern Women's Basketball team hosted the Lady Panthers of Drury University in the first of a two-game homestand. A fourth quarter Lions comeback forced overtime, but the Lady Panthers would pull away at the very end to win 88-84.
Missouri Southern (4-4) vs. Drury (2-1)
Quarter 1: Missouri Southern 19 | Drury 19
Mackenzie Hart and
Veonce Powell each drilled a three pointer to give the Lions an early 6-0 lead. The Lady Panthers would respond and tie the game at 10-10 with 4:32 remaining in the first quarter, but the Lions would quickly retain their lead with a three pointer from
Mia Topping and a jumper from
Veonce Powell. Both teams traded baskets through the remainder of the quarter, but a slight Lady Panther scoring advantage tied the game at 19-19 as the first quarter came to a close.
Quarter 2: Missouri Southern 38 | Drury 44
The Lady Panthers went on a 6-0 run to open the first three minutes of the second quarter, pushing their lead to 25-19.
Makenna Yokley ended the Lady Panthers' run with a driving layup followed by a steal from
Reese Webb on defense that was quickly turned into a fastbreak layup from
Mackenzie Hart, narrowing the deficit to four points with six minutes remaining. The Lady Panthers had an answer for every Lions basket through the final minutes of the quarter as the Lions trailed 44-38 at halftime.
Quarter 3: Missouri Southern 49 | Drury 65
Both teams came out strong defensively as a low scoring battle through the first five minutes of the third quarter slightly grew the Lady Panthers lead to 52-45 with 4:40 remaining. Despite
Mia Topping responding with a layup, the Lions would continue to have a rough time offensively. The third quarter buzzer sounded as the Lady Panthers would take advantage offensively and grow their lead to 65-49.
Quarter 4: Missouri Southern 77 | Drury 77
Kaitlin Hunnicutt opened the final quarter with a 4-0 run off two free throws and a layup to bring the game within double-digits. After a three point run from the Lady Panthers, the Lions began to find a rhythm offensively, scoring seven unanswered points (two free throws -
Kaitlin Hunnicutt, three pointer -
Veonce Powell, two free throws -
Mackenzie Hart) to cut their deficit to 67-60 with 7:26 remaining in the game. A seven point response from the Lady Panthers pushed their lead back to 14 points with four minutes to go.
Mackenzie Hart and
Morgan Meyers kept the Lions in the game, combining for an 8-0 run and putting the Lions within six points with 2:47 remaining. Two free throws from
Kaitlin Hunnicutt and another three pointer from
Morgan Meyers countered two points from Drury to cut the deficit to three points with 2:00 minutes remaining.
Ryan Franklin would tie the game with a layup, giving the Lady Panthers the ball with 20 seconds.
Mackenzie Hart would grab the loose ball off the missed Lady Panther shot and dribble the clock out to force overtime.
Overtime: Missouri Southern 84 | Drury 88
Mackenzie Hart (free throw) and
Kennady Roach (layup) gave the Lions their first lead since the first quarter to open overtime. The Lady Panthers returned with five straight points to regain a three point advantage with 2:26 remaining.
Morgan Meyers answered with a clutch three pointer to tie the game at 83-83. The remaining two minutes ended in a free throw shootout, but it was the Lady Panthers that would finish on top at the buzzer, 88-84.
Missouri Southern Leaders:
Points: Mackenzie Hart - 27
Rebounds: Franklin - 8
Assists: Mackenzie Hart - 4
Steals: Mackenzie Hart - 4
Blocks: Kaitlin Hunnicutt,
Ryan Franklin - 1
Drury Leaders:
Points: Rhi Gibbons - 21
Rebounds: Josie Storey, Sara Mendel - 10
Assists: Caitlynn Daniels - 6
Steals: Anna Hitt - 2
Blocks: Sara Mendel - 2
Up Next:
The Lions will wrap up a two game homestand against Southern Nazarene University on Saturday, November 23 at 1:30 PM in Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
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