JOPLIN, Mo. - After leading by as many as 14 points in the second half, the Missouri Western women's basketball team had to hang on for a 65-61 win at Missouri Southern on Saturday. The Lions cut the Griffon lead to one with a minute left, but were not able to score in the final 60 seconds.Shooting 33% (10-30) in the second half, MWSU saw what had been a comfortable lead for most of the game evaporate. Missouri Southern outscored the Griffons by seven in the second half, but an 11-point Griffon lead at halftime was enough to help the Griffons secure their 18th win of the year.Southern missed 3-point attempts on its final two possessions and Katrina Roenfeldt knocked down three of four free throw attempts to help MWSU seal the win. Roenfeldt went 3 for 4 from the foul line on the day, but MWSU was collectively just 9 for 20 for 45% from the stripe, part of what allowed the Lions back in the game late.NOTABLES- MWSU jumped out to an 11-2 lead, missing just one of its first six shots.- The Griffons shot 61.5% from the field in the first quarter with Missouri Southern having its worst offensive quarter, 33.3%.- Corbyn Cunningham went 7 of 10 from the field for a game-high 16 points with a team-high eight rebounds.- Chris Wilson was 7 of 14 from the field, scoring 15 points with seven rebounds and a team-high four steals.- Katrina Roenfeldt also scored 15 points with six boards, a team-high four assists and three steals.- Simone Walker scored nine off the bench and Mychaell Gray added seven.UP NEXTMissouri Western ends the regular season with four-straight in the MWSU Fieldhouse that starts with a repeat of their last two opponents. The Griffons get a shot at redemption against Pittsburg State on Wednesday.--- MWSU Athletics ---

Missouri Western women hang on to defeat Southern 65-61