By Jim Henry
jhenry@joplinglobe.com
In its first home games of the season, Missouri Southern’s women’s basketball team first must step on the gas and then apply the brakes if the Lions are going to control the tempo in this weekend’s Pizza Hut/Fairfield Inn Thanksgiving Classic.
“Avila is a very disciplined basketball team,” Lions head coach Maryann Mitts said. “They are going to play strictly man. We’re going to have to increase the tempo.
“On the flip side, Arkansas-Fort Smith will come here and want to have as many possessions as possible. They will press us fullcourt, shoot the ball off one or two passes. They want a fast tempo, and we’ll have to slow it down.”
No. 7-ranked Emporia State completes the four-team field this weekend at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. Games begin at 2 p.m. today and 1 p.m. Saturday.
Missouri Southern (2-1) participated in Emporia State’s Tipoff Classic last weekend and registered victories over Evangel 79-43 and Eastern New Mexico 76-58.
The Lions’ improvement from their 67-50 season-opening loss at Northeastern State (Okla.) pleased Mitts.
“The game experience spoke volumes to the new players,” she said. “I thought in particular Jasmine Lovejoy made tremendous strides.”
Lovejoy, 5-foot-8 junior transfer from Northeast (Neb.) College, flirted with a double-double against Eastern New Mexico, scoring 21 points on 9-of-12 sniping from the field and grabbing nine rebounds.
“No. 1, Jasmine guarded the best player on the other team,” Mitts said. “That was her first assignment. That will take a lot out of a player just physically, let alone emotionally.
“Offensively there was a time when we were trying to get her the basketball in the first half, and she was hesitant to be involved. We challenged her ... to push her through it, and she came out and scored the first eight points of the second half. That was a growing moment for her, to become a go-to player for us.”
Michelle Hedgecock, 5-10 sophomore, notched a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards against Eastern New Mexico, and senior guards Randi Henderson and Jolea Apon scored 11 and 10, respectively.
“Michelle Hedgecock played extremely well from the week before,” Mitts said. “I was really impressed with the growth we had from Sunday to Friday. Every time we stepped on the floor, we gained confidence in each other and in the system.”
It’s been a roller-coaster start for Avila. The Eagles’ 5-3 mark began with two lopsided victories, then three losses — two by five points or less. But Avila has averaged 81.3 points while winning its last three games — 85-80 over Langston, 82-63 over Benedictine and 77-70 at Ottawa on Tuesday night.
Avila’s roster includes Loganne Grider, 5-11 sophomore who prepped at Greenfield.
Arkansas-Fort Smith, playing its first NCAA Division II season, is 0-3 after Tuesday night’s 87-76 loss at Pittsburg State. The Lady Lions, coached by 24-year veteran Louis Whorton, ended their 33-year history as a junior college program with an 8-24 record last year. The Lions forfeited 22 games due to the use of an ineligible player.
Vasha Sanders, 5-9 guard and the only returning starter from last year, leads Fort Smith at 13 points per game.
Emporia State, the MIAA preseason favorite, has won its first three games by an average of 33 points. Eight players average at least seven points, led by guard Cassondra Boston (18.7) and forward Ali Volkens (10.0).
