By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
KANSAS CITY - Missouri Western shot a scorching 11-of-13 from the field in the second quarter and led 48-37 in the third, but No. 1 seed Missouri Southern (24-5) forced 26 turnovers, outscored the No. 5 seed Griffons 30-15 in the second half and hung on for a 65-58 win at the MIAA tournament semifinals at Municipal Auditorium Saturday.
Missouri Western (21-9) went blow-for-blow with Southern early, trailing only 19-17 at the end of the first. The Griffons outscored the Lions 26-16 in the second quarter and went up 43-35 at halftime.
Leading 48-37 with seven minutes left in the third, Southern reeled off an 11-0 run and kept the Griffons scoreless for nearly seven minutes, tying the game at 48.
Alyssa Bonilla had a long range jumper to give the Griffons a 50-48 lead entering the fourth.
While Missouri Western created enough stops to give themselves a chance, the Griffons never got into a rhythm on offense in the fourth, shooting just 3-of-11 in the final 10 minutes and struggling with turnovers.
While Western had 26 turnovers, Missouri Southern had only eight. The 26 turnovers led to 23 Southern points, helping the Lions secure a school-record 17th straight win and a spot in the MIAA championship game.
Lacy Stokes, the MIAA Player and Freshman of the Year, led the Lions with a staggering 32 points - four shy of a career-high. She also had seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Connie Clarke led Missouri Western with 11 points - all in the first half. Bonilla had 10 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Missouri Western, who entered the week ranked No. 8 in the Central Region Rankings and beat UCM on Friday, who's ranked No. 9 in the region, now await their NCAA tournament fate.
The tournament selection show is on Sunday night at 9 p.m. central and will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
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