With the season coming to an end last month and loss of two players shortly thereafter, the Lady Lions have not put basketball on hold. The women are focused on next season and are prepared to graduate their four senior players in May.

The loss of junior guard Kacey Inman and junior center Lucimara Silva has come as a surprise to some teammates and fans.

In the week following championships, Inman and Silva said they went to head coach Maryann Mitts to let her know they would not be returning to the team next season.

“Lu and I quit the team and did not make a big deal about it,” Inman said.

“We went into the office and the coaches pretty much knew that we were not happy here. They didn’t care. They took our shoes, our practice stuff and our T-shirts.”

Mitts thinks the women did not “quit” the team. She believes the players were released from the team by Mitts during a seasonal meeting that Mitts holds with each individual player at the end of the year.

“I understand why they are saying that they ‘quit,'” Mitts said. “And my comment to that would be that people ‘quit’ things all the time. People quit jobs, marriages, smoking, people quit things all the time. I don’t understand what the big deal is.”

Inman said she felt the coaches knew in January of this season that she wanted to leave the team.

Whether the women quit or were released, they will no longer be playing for Southern or attending classes at Southern in the fall.

“I did not quit because of playing time,” Inman said. “I had other ideas about what you are supposed to get out of a basketball team and what you are supposed to have with teammates and coaches.”

Both players had transferred this season from Northeastern State University and will be transferring to other schools for the fall semester.

“In the beginning of the season I was happy here,” Silva said. “The end I didn’t enjoy at all. The coach expects me to go back to Brazil. I’m going to play at Oklahoma City University with my best friend.”

Senior Jamie Green said she supports her coaches 100 percent in the decisions that they make.

“As head coach at Missouri Southern I am like a CEO in charge of a company,” Mitts said. “I have to make decisions that keep this organization running in a direction that’s positive, productive and team oriented.”

Despite the loss of six players, Mitts focuses on next year as things look optimistic for the team. Recruits will be signing with Southern Wednesday.

“We have a great foundation in our returners and what we are looking to do is bring in four or five quality players and people,” Mitts said.