Box Score

Bolivar, Mo. - The Southwest Baptist University women's basketball team clinched a berth into the MIAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon, defeating Missouri Western 62-57. With the victory, SBU finishes the regular season 11-15 (6-13 MIAA).

The Bearcats and Griffons were evenly matched throughout most of the game, as both teams exchanged leads for the first fifteen minutes of the contest. Brook Duncan opened up the scoring for the Bearcats by hitting a three, and a Leann Lansdown layup with 5:38 left in the half gave the lead back to SBU. Sarah Magana closed off the half with a jumper at the buzzer to give SBU a 31-26 lead heading into the break.

To start the second half, Missouri Western opened up on a 5-0 run to tie the game up at 31 all. However, the Bearcats responded with a 5-0 run of their own, taking a 36-31 lead, and they slowly started to build up their lead. A Jacqui Zelenka jumped with 10:07 left in the game gave SBU their first double-digit lead of the afternoon, and they held off a late surge by the Griffons to claim a 62-57 victory.

In her final game at the Meyer Sports Center, Jacqui Zelenka gave SBU 13 points to go along with 5 rebounds. Lissette Plasencia led the Bearcat scoring with 16 points, while Brook Duncan added 12 points in the victory. As a team SBU shot 40.9% from the field, 28.6% from beyond the arc, and 68.8% from the free throw line.

With the victory, SBU will now travel to Washburn on Monday, March 3 where they will take on the Ichabods in the first round of the MIAA Tournament. The Bearcats have earned the #11 seed, while Washburn is the #6 seed. Tip off is set for 7:00 p.m. from Topeka, Kansas.