The Missouri Southern Women’s Basketball Lions have only one more game till they head off to Hawaii.

The game is tomorrow night against the Truman Bulldogs at home. Last year, the Lions beat the Bulldogs 73-59. This year, they look to keep alive a perfect 6-0 start.

“We’ve been focusing on post-defense the last three weeks. Truman has a player that scores at least 25 points a game,” said Maryann Mitts, women’s head basketball coach. “Since this is the first conference game, I expect a lot of energy. Whenever we have had a lot of energy, we’ve played well.”

Mitts is referring to Bulldogs’ sophomore forward Georgia Mueller, who earned Player of the Week Honors this week.

Tuesday, the Lions played against the Harris-Stowe State Hornets and notched their sixth straight win, 79-54. During that game, senior Dana-Mae Robbs scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Junior Ashley Birch scored 16 points with 10 rebounds. Junior Ela Zawadka hauled in 10 rebounds as well. Junior Robin Kantin scored 16 points. Sophomore Danielle DeVader scored 12 points. Junior Tynesha Pierce scored 11 points.

“They’re a very athletic, talented team. They will push the tempo; they will play an up-tempo game. They nearly upset the No. 1 ranked team, Emporia State,” Mitts said.

The Lions will be participating in the Hoop-N-Surf Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, December 19-20.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Mitts said. “When people get asked where they would most like to go on a vacation, most of them say Hawaii. We were fortunate enough to raise enough money from our fundraisers, such as our Jogathon Marathon.

“We are going to be experiencing the culture. We’re going to a luau, Pearl Harbor, we’re going to spend a day on the beach which we’re going to be a block and a half away from it. It’s going to be a great trip and I couldn’t be more pleased to take this group of girls. We’re going to have a lot of fun as well as be successful. The girls have managed to focus on their school work and the games one at a time despite the fact Hawaii is only two weeks away.”

DeVader confirmed Mitts excitement about the trip.

“I am very excited for our trip to Hawaii,” she said. “I am ready for some warmer weather. We get to go there and play basketball and there is a beach. What could be better than that?

“Overall, I am very excited for the opportunity to get to go to Hawaii and I plan to relish it. My family is making the trip as well which makes it extra special for me.”

Dec. 2 the Lions were supposed to play against the St. Edward’s Hilltoppers but the game was canceled due to snow. Anyone who goes to a women’s basketball game can hear Mitts saying to her girls, “patience.”

“On the offensive end, I’m coaching them,” she said. “These players struggle with hardly having any rhythm offensively and I have a lot of players that are not used to running the offense. My games are a venue to make them better. Be patient, reverse the ball, wait for the best shot instead of taking the first shot.”

In the Lions’ Nov. 29 game against the Panhandle State Lady Aggies. Southern won 94-57 and defeated the Lady Aggies 82-55 last year.

Before the game, Mitts summarized what Southern need to do.

“They are a regional opponent,” she said. “This game is critical; it’s an important game. We have two important keys that we need to focus on: one, to outplay them on both ends of the floor and two, to assume our rule responsibility. When you have only eight players, they all need to show up mentally and physically. If we do that, we’re successful. If one or two players don’t show up mentally and physically, it becomes a heavy burden to carry. Those are our two main keys against Panhandle.”

During the game, Robbs had a game-high 23 points and career-best 17 rebounds. DeVader scored 17 points. Pierce scored 18 points. Birch scored 17 points and had 9 rebounds. Kantin scored 13 points. Redshirt freshman Karina Kuczynski had a career-high 12 assists.

After the Lions’ return from Hawaii, they will face two road games to end one year and begin another. On Dec. 30, Southern will meet Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Mo. They will follow-up that contest with a Jan. 3 appointment with MIAA rival Pittsburg State University.

The team will return to Leggett & Platt for a two-game homestand Jan. 6 against the University of Central Missouri and Jan. 10 against Northwest Missouri State University.