JOPLIN, Mo. — The Missouri Southern women’s basketball team utilized a huge second quarter where the outscored the Pittsburg State Gorillas 24-12 and cruised to a 77-63 victory over PSU on Robert Corn Court inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
Southern (13-13, 5-11 MIAA) was led offensively by Chelsey Henry as the senior had fun on Senior Night going 8-of-15 from the field to lead all scorers. Chasidee Owens had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Jordan Schoenberger had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.
PSU (19-6, 11-5 MIAA) had three in double-figures, led by 15 points from Maya Williams.
Southern started off strong, opening up a 7-3 lead after a jumper from Henry with 6:47 to go in the first quarter. A layup from Amber Buch with 3:47 to go in the quarter put Southern up 11-7, but a three from Shelby Lopez for Pitt gave the Gorillas their first lead of the game at 12-11 with just under three to go.
A three from Krista Clark, put the Lions up 16-12 and a three from Destiny Cozart with a minute to go made the Lions’ lead 19-14. A late bucket for the Gorillas gave the Lions a 19-16 lead after one.
PSU had a 22-19 lead with 6:33 to go in the second quarter, but a three-point play from Owens and another bucket from Owens put the Lions up 24-22 with five minutes to play. A three from Henry with 4:35 to go put the Lions on top 27-24, while a running layup from Morgan Brightwell put the Lions up 31-26 with 3:25 to go. A three from Brightwell put Southern up by ten and a three from Cozart the next trip down gave Southern a 39-26 lead with 1:43 to go.
Southern ended the quarter on a 19-4 run and outscored the Gorillas 24-12 in the quarter to go into the locker room with a 43-28 halftime lead.
A three-point play from Henry with 6:12 to go in the quarter gave the Lions a 52-33 lead and a three from Skiles with 2:30 to go put the Lions up 19 (62-43). Another three from :Layne Skiles, this time with a minute to play put the Lions up 67-44, and Southern would end the quarter with a 69-48 lead.
A layup from Owens with just under seven minutes left in the fourth put the Lions up 73-51, and the Lions would cruise to the victory.
Southern shot 42 percent from the field in the game and 80 percent from the free throw line. The Lions outrebounded PSU 40-32, including a 15-7 advantage on the offensive boards. Southern had a 40-30 advantage in the paint and a 18-5 advantage in second chance points. The Lions forced 13 Gorillas turnovers, leading to 12 points.
Southern will be back in action this Saturday as the Lions will travel to Emporia State with a 3 pm start from White Auditorium.
