Box score

JOPLIN, Mo. -- The SBU Bearcats gave a winning effort on the road at Missouri Southern. But end game circumstances stopped the Bearcats from the upset win, as the Lions won 62-61 on two late free throws.

"Our girls gave a winning effort. I'm disappointed that the outcome was determined by events other than the play of the athletes," said SBU head coach J.C. Carter after the contest. "We got the foul line more and out-rebounded them. We showed a great deal of maturity tonight and displayed toughness."

Both teams started slow with the Lions shooting just 26% (8 of 31) from the field and the Bearcats slightly better at 36% (10 of 28). Both squads struggled beyond with Southern shooting 19% (3 of 16) and SBU at 18% (2 of 11). Courtney Heady tied the game at 13 on a jumper with eight minutes left in the first half. A layup from Jasmine Sanford gave the Bearcats their first lead of the contest. SBU would extend their margin into the break, leading 29-24 at half.

The Bearcats were able to get the foul line early in the second half to offset their struggles from the field. A Mia Gilreath bucket with 10:37 left was the Bearcats' first field goal of the second stanza and it tied the game at 41. The teams would stay close for the majority of the half, before Southern took the lead 55-52 on a trey from Myriah Hicks with 4:30 to go.

A trey from Heady cut the MSSU lead to three with two minutes left. A steal from Gallio and old-fashioned three-point play tied the game at 59 with 90 seconds left. The Lions' Michelle Hedgecock would hit one of two free throws before Freddie Sims would drive and score, giving SBU a 61-60 edge with a minute to go.

An SBU miss with under ten seconds left (and two seconds on the shot clock) led to a clock controversy. The shot clock buzzer went off while the Bearcats had trapped an MSSU player under the SBU basket. After consulting the replay, the officials reset the game clock to 5.3 seconds. MSSU's Jasmine Lovejoy then drove the length of the floor to the bucket and a whistle at the final horn added to the drama. After another lengthy discussion and the third replay check in the final minute, one second was added back to the clock before Lovejoy hit both free throws to give the Lions the win.

Rachel Graves led the Bearcats (2-8, 0-3 MIAA) with 13 points. Heady added 10 points while Sanford had eight boards to lead SBU.

Lovejoy led the Lions (8-2, 2-1 MIAA) with 23 points and 9 rebounds. Both teams struggled from the field, shooting 35% from the field. SBU shot just 17% from three point range and Missouri Southern hit just 23%.

The Bearcats continue their road trip on Wednesday night in Kirksville against the Truman State Bulldogs, with the action getting underway at 5:30 p.m.