Missouri Southern will finish the regular season tomorrow night against Missouri Western having just secured a spot in the MIAA tournament.

For the first time in Coach Maryann Mitts tenure at Southern, the Lions entered the final week of season play without having secured a spot in the conference tournament.

“We are in uncharted waters,” Mitts said. “This season has been disappointing in some aspects, but I still believe in this team. We are where we put ourselves.”

Western enters the game ranked No. 2 in the nation and as the leaders of the MIAA conference. Having already secured a bid in both the MIAA tournament and the NCAA division II tournament, they enter with nothing to lose.

“Western isn’t playing for much except the opportunity to host the regional NCAA tournament,” Mitts said. “There is a possibility that they could overlook us.”

Tomorrow’s game could be a preview of what awaits the Lions in the MIAA tournament.

“The group has a fire in their eyes,” Mitts said. “They know what has to be done. There’s no reason to be defeated yet. It’s been a tough year, but I believe athletics teaches you how to persevere and how to overcome.”

The last meeting between the two saw the Lions fall to the Griffons 81-66 in an early MIAA contest. Dana-Mae Robbs had 18 points, while Robin Kantin and Tynesha Pierce each had 11.

Finishing out the road portion of the MIAA schedule last weekend, Southern dropped an important game against Northwest Missouri 62-51. Pierce scored 18 for the Lions in a game that saw small victories in the paint and on the boards. Southern outscored Northwest 26-12 in the paint and out rebounded them 37-27, despite turning over the ball twice as many times as the Bearcats.

“The turnovers were the number one factor in the game,” Mitts said. “They completely eliminated the positives.”

Despite the loss, Mitts is still proud of the effort the team has put forward.

“All of these players are playing hard,” she said. “I just don’t know what it will take to make it to Kansas City. Robin is playing the game as hard as she can. Ela (Zawadka) has been giving productive minutes and Fatai (Hala’api’api) has been making the other post players better. Whether it’s Dana-Mae or Tynesha with her, they are getting open shots when Fatai is being double teamed.”

Wednesday night was the second installment of the Del Rio Bordertown battle with Pittsburg State. The Lions handed the Gorillas an 83-59 defeat in their earlier matchup which featured the Lions scoring half of their points from the bench. Pierce and Hala’api’api had 16 points apiece and Zawadka had 12.

The Lions closed out this series the same way the started it, with a dominating 76-57 victory. Pierce was an unstoppable force all night and finished with 24 points and 13 boards. Karina Kuczynski added 13 points.

The real story of the night, however, was Robbs who played with cast on her severely broken left hand and had to sign a waiver just to play.

“There is one out of 10 kids that do what she does tonight, she plays” said Mitts of Robbs.

Tomorrow one student in attendance will win $1250 in the Lion Pride Payout.