JOPLIN, Mo. - Griffon Women's Basketball (9-15, 5-10 MIAA) scored an 85-75 win at Missouri Southern on Saturday at Robert Ellis Young Gymnasium inside the Leggett and Platt Athletic Center in Joplin.
MoWest, who's now won three of its last four games to stay in the mix for an MIAA tournament bid, started strong right away, leading 10-3 at the 6:41 mark of the first quarter.
Southern (17-7, 11-4 MIAA) had the answer and led 19-14 at the end of the first. The Griffons trailed 29-21 midway through the second, but hung in and trailed only 38-34 at halftime.
MoWest was sharp out of halftime, hitting a trio of three-pointers in the third quarter to build a 59-54 lead entering the fourth.
The Griffon lead was 66-56 with 8:03 to go, thanks to another three from
Nakiya Harris. Southern tried to hang around, getting to within 77-73 with 53 seconds to play, but
Sydney Lewis answered with a basket 'and-one' with 45 seconds remaining, pushing the lead back to 80-73.
MoWest proceeded to hit three consecutive free throws, plus a late
Lindsey Kelderman layup, to put it away.
Mia Morel was outstanding with a game-high 30 points, shooting 11-of-18 from the field, including 5-of-8 from three and 3-of-4 at the foul line. She also added six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Lewis scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half, shooting 7-of-8 from the field with four rebounds.
Ana Oliveira Dias tallied her first double-double of the season with 13 points and a career-best 11 assists.
LaNicia Parker also came up big off the bench with 13 points and a team-best eight rebounds.
MoWest shot 53.3% (32-of-60) from the field, including 12-of-25 from three. That's the most three-pointers MoWest has made against an MIAA opponent this season. The Griffons held Southern to 38.4% (28-of-73) from the field, including 7-of-27 from three (25.9%). The Griffs also outscored the Lions in the paint, 40-30.
The Griffons are back home on Thursday to face Arkansas-Fort Smith (4-20, 3-12 MIAA). Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) and available to watch on the MIAA Network.
