By Jim Henry
jhenry@joplinglobe.com
PITTSBURG, Kan. — The 3-point shot isn’t a major part of Missouri Southern’s offense.
After all, the Lions rank next-to-last in the MIAA with 5.96 3-pointers per game.
But on Wednesday night, the Lions’ 3-point accuracy produced a 13-point halftime lead en route to a 70-53 victory over Pittsburg State at John Lance Arena.
The Lions (18-8, 9-8 MIAA), who slipped one spot to sixth in this week’s South Central Regional ranking, moved back into a tie for fourth place with Northwest Missouri, which lost 69-66 at home to Missouri Western. The Lions complete regular-season play Saturday night at Missouri Western.
Missouri Southern made just 6-of-21 shots inside the arc in the first half -- in large part because the Gorillas, 6-foot-4 Linda Igbinigie was a one-person block party with five blocked shots and just as many altered. Igbinigie, at PSU on a volleyball scholarship, finished with a school-record nine blocks, one more than the former mark set by Bethany Turnbull against the Lions six years ago.
But from beyond the arc, the Lions nailed 7-of-12 attempts, their sharpest sniping since making 7-of-10 in the first half at Central Missouri on Jan. 12.
The Lions drilled 3s on four consecutive possessions midway through the half to turn a one-point deficit into an 11-point lead.
Ela Zawadka ignited the burst with a trey from the right corner, and Robin Kantin connected from the left corner. India Wood hit a long bomb from well beyond the top of the key, and Zawadka, playing on her 23rd birthday, scored from the left wing to make it 26-15 with 9:35 remaining in the half.
“We came out ready to play and ready to fight,” said Wood, who led the Lions with 14 points and six assists. “I knew I had to pick it up ... I told myself I was going to come out and play well, execute the plays, make my team better.”
“We knew they had one big post player, but we thought we would have a mismatch,” Lions head coach Maryann Mitts said. “We wanted to take it into the post, but so much for that idea.
“If our guards don’t hit those shots, we become very stagnant on offense. We’d been struggling, but those 3s gave us some confidence. ... We controlled what happened tonight. The first time, they controlled what happened.”
“Obviously we wanted to play our zone. We felt good about it,” Gorillas head coach Lane Lord said. “Then they hit seven (3s) in the first half and took us out of our zone.”
The Lions led 34-21 at halftime and 39-31 one minute into the second half before the Gorillas went on a 16-4 run to pull within 43-37 on Marissa Poppe’s 3-pointer with 14:50 left. Brianna Buchanan and Laura Glenn scored the first 13 points of the spurt.
But the Lions stemmed the tide with — what else? — a 3-pointer from Danielle DeVader at the top of the key, and the Lions maintained at least a seven-point lead before pulling away in the last seven minutes.
Three more Lions joined Wood in double figures. Fatai Hala’Api’Api, who snared nine rebounds, and Zawadka scored 11 apiece, and Tynesha Pierce had 10.
Glenn led the Gorillas (10-16, 4-13) with 13 points. Igbinigie just missed a triple double with nine points and nine rebounds in addition to her nine blocks.
“Linda did a great job inside, nine blocks and probably altered another nine shots,” Lord said. “Our game plan worked out pretty good except the outside shot for Southern was going down.
“That’s what a good team does. You take away one thing, and they will beat you with another.”
Buchanan, who scored 21 points in the Gorillas’ 54-44 victory at MSSU last month, was held to seven points, half her season average.
“India was the one primarily guarding her,” Mitts said. “She’s become our defensive stopper on the perimeter since Robin’s injury. We wanted to keep their shooters from getting their feet set on their shots, and I thought we did a good job of that.”
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