No. 10 Gorillas beat MSSU women

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Globe/Kellen Jenkins Missouri Southern's Michelle Hedgecock has a rebound knocked away by Pittsburg State's Larissa Richards Wednesday night at MSSU's Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. The Lion's lost 88-74.
Globe/Kellen Jenkins Missouri Southern's Erin Rice has a pass knocked away by Pittsburg State's Lauren Brown Wednesday night at MSSU's Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. The Lion's lost 88-74.
Globe/Kellen Jenkins Missouri Southern's Erin Rice has takes a shot over Pittsburg State's Lauren Brown Wednesday night at MSSU's Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. The Lion's lost 88-74.
Globe/Kellen Jenkins Missouri Southern's Dysyan Malone takes a lay up pass Pittsburg State's Brooke Conley Wednesday night at MSSU's Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. The Lion's lost 88-74.

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February 8, 2012

By Jim Henry Globe Sports Editor The Joplin Globe Wed Feb 08, 2012, 11:52 PM CST

Brooke Conley’s recent offensive surge continued Wednesday night.

Conley poured in 25 points — her third 20-point effort in the last six games — to lead No. 10 Pittsburg State past Missouri Southern 88-74 at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

The Gorillas (21-2, 15-1 MIAA) received an added bonus when Central Missouri upset Washburn 69-68 in Topeka, giving PSU a 11⁄2-game lead over the second-place Lady Blues.

Conley, 5-foot-11 senior averaging 13.5 points, hit 9-of-17 field goals and 6-of-11 free throws for her 25 points, two below her career high set three games ago at Central Missouri.

“I’m just working hard,” Conley said. “I’m going off my teammates, going off what the coaches say. It was a tough game. So far they’ve been the toughest defensive team that we’ve matched up with. They came out ready to play, and so did we.”

“She’s just confident,” PSU coach Lane Lord said. “She’s a senior and she wants to win. ... She brings it to practice, and she’s been bringing it to the games.”

“She’s their Jasmine Lovejoy (MSSU’s leading scorer last season),” Lions coach Maryann Mitts said. “She killed us the first time we played them (with 17 points). She’s a great player. Those kind of players, I don’t know if you stop them. You just try to minimize their touches and minimize their points.”

Freshman forward Lizzy Jeronimus tallied 20 points for the Gorillas, who shot 53 percent (30-of-57). Alexa Bordewick scored 15 points, and Drew Roberts added 10.

Senior guard Larrita Gipson tallied 23 points for the Lions (7-15, 3-13). Gipson was 8-of-11 from the field, 3-of-4 from long range and 4-of-6 at the foul line while setting a career high for the second straight game.

“After the first 10 minutes, I knew Larrita Gipson was going to be a key in the game,” Mitts said. “They weren’t stopping her in transition, and they were leaving her wide open in the halfcourt. I thought she did what every great senior does. She adjusted to the game plan and stepped up to be a big force.”

Junior forward Erin Rice scored 13 points and grabbed 11 boards — her third double-double this season — and junior guard Kelby Fritz had 11 points for the Lions, who shot 36 percent (24-of-67).

The Lions — just as they did in the previous meeting at PSU — built an eight-point lead during the first 10 minutes. The Lions hit 10 of their first 19 shots, and eight unanswered points — two buckets by Fritz and one apiece by Rice and Michelle Hedgecock — gave MSSU a 23-15 lead with 9:55 left in the half.

“That (good start) was one thing we really wanted to focus on,” Gipson said. “The last game we started the game not great, but we knew against a good team like Pitt State, ranked No. 1 in the MIAA and 10th in the country, we couldn’t afford to get down and try to come back.”

“We got off to a great start,” Mitts said. “I thought we were very aggressive ... in transition and had them back on their heels. And our kids made great decisions going to the basket. We had the tempo, we were the aggressors, and good things happened. Then we started getting back on our heels a little bit.”

The Gorillas outscored the Lions 17-2 during the next five minutes to take a 32-25 lead. Conley had seven points during the spree that saw PSU go 7-of-10 from the floor to the Lions’ 0-for-6, including five 3-point attempts. PSU also had zero turnovers during this span after making nine in the first 10 minutes.

“We settled for the 3 too much,” Mitts said. “One of the keys on the board before the game was if you have a choice, drive. I think we were feeling pretty good about things and we were looking for the exclamation point. We were looking for the big shot instead of just continuing to do what we were doing. That was blue-collar work getting to the bucket.”

A tipin by Rice and steal and layup by Gipson pulled the Lions within 32-29, and Bordewick and Gipson exchanged treys before three Lauren Brown points in the last 50 seconds gave PSU a 38-32 halftime lead.

Conley, who scored 12 points in the first half, tallied five points and Bordewick hit her third trey as PSU expanded its lead to 50-38 three minutes into the second half. Conley converted a four-point play on PSU’s next trip, and Roberts’ three-point play made it 59-43 with 14:30 to play.

“I thought Southern came out with great energy,” Lord said. “They were ready to play, and it took us a little while to get our energy going. I thought Brooke Conley had it from the opening tipoff. But Southern came out and really stuck it to us early in the game. ... They really drove the ball to the basket, turned off the screen and drove down the middle. After that, the last 30 minutes, I thought we played pretty good.”

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No. 10 Gorillas beat MSSU women

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