By Jim Henry
jhenry@joplinglobe.com
Coming off one of its worst shooting games, Missouri Southern’s field-goal shooting can help the Lions slow down Pittsburg State’s offense tonight at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
“They are going to want 35-40 possessions in the first half,” Lions head coach Maryann Mitts said. “They like the up-tempo style of play. We’re going to have to handle that for 40 minutes. They only way to stop them from pressing is to make them miss shots. Our defense has to be really, really good.
“One way to stop their offensive transition is we have to make buckets. They get a lot of points off their press, a lot of points off transition off missed shots. If we can make buckets and force them to take the ball out of bounds, that will slow them down.”
As far as the Gorillas are concerned, the faster the pace the better.
“We want to play as fast as we can, make the game chaotic, keep the game up tempo,” PSU head coach Lane Lord said. “Hopefully we can do that Saturday night.”
At 8-3, the Gorillas have won only two fewer games than they did last season in Lord’s first year.
“Practice is running a little more smoothly. The kids know what to expect,” Lord said. “We have more players that run our style of play. ... Getting Candice Gilbert back (after missing a year), her athleticism fits our style of play.”
“Last year he ran his system with players who were not used to it,” Mitts said. “He was trying to fit square pegs into round holes. With a year of recruiting, he went out and got the type of players who fit his system better, and they are much improved. Plus with a year of experience for him (in the MIAA) and a year of experience for their returners, they are a much more mature basketball program.”
Both teams registered late come-from-behind home victories on Wednesday afternoon. The Lions (9-2), despite 32 percent shooting, nipped winless Missouri Western 58-57 as India Wood hit two 3-pointers in the last two minutes. The Gorillas, after seeing a big first-half lead disappear, recovered to beat Northwest Missouri State 73-70.
“We played one of our best first halves ... a 15-point lead with about six minutes to go,” Lord said. “They made a nice run at the end of the half, then they shut us down a little bit, but we found a way to pull it out. A year ago we would have lost this game, but this year we pulled it out. It’s a good step for the program and the kids.”
“Any team is going to have bad games every once in a while, but we found a way to win,” Mitts said. “When we had to make shots, key people stepped up, namely Jolea (Apon), Myosha (Barnes) and India.”
Barnes finished with 16 points to lead the Lions. Danielle DeVader scored 11 points in the first half but did not play in the second half. She missed Friday’s practice because of the flu and will see limited action at best tonight, Mitts said.
However, Brittany Vavao-Huggins, 5-foot-11 sophomore who also plays volleyball, has been cleared to play tonight after missing the first 11 games with a foot injury.
The Lions play the three teams ahead of them in the conference standings during the next week — PSU tonight, at No. 9 Emporia State on Wednesday and at home against No. 2 Washburn next Saturday.
“When you look at the standings, Central, Pitt and us have one loss,” Mitts said. “This is a big game because it’s a home game. The team that wins this game is the one that will take a step up in the standings. It’s too early to be talking about regional tournament, but it’s not too early to be jockeying for position.”
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