Lady Lions work hard for fans
Carol Koenig, freshman guard, dribbles past a Pitt State defender during the Lady Lions win Feb. 12. The women won 62-59; the men won 80-75.
On Feb. 12, the Lady Lions Basketball season continued as the women hosted a much anticipated rematch against Pittsburg State University.
A packed house turned out to watch the Lady Lions sweep the Lady Gorillas in one of the closest games this season.
Southern pulled through with the win, 62-59.
“It was a total team effort,” said junior guard Kacey Inman.
“We worked really hard this week for the fans.”
Senior guard Jaquie Rzezsut held the scoring high with a total of 25 points. With 12 seconds left in the game, the women fought to keep Pittsburg from making a 3-pointer that could tie the game.
Rzezsut came from behind Amanda Davied with a steal and flew down court to score a layup, putting Southern ahead, 60-59.
“That was fun,” Rzezsut said. “I was mad, and we were up by three, so I backed off from her a little bit then made the steal.”
Junior forward Wyketha Harrell had four fouls against her during the game but scored six points for Southern.
“I was getting caught in the wrong position,” Harrell said.
The women were excited about the number of fans who turned out to watch the game and stressed their thanks for the support.
“We didn’t do it for them,” Harrell said.
“We did it because of them.”
On Feb. 8, the women suffered the second loss for the season against Northwest Missouri State’s Lady Bearcats. The women had hoped to bring come back with another win, despite their history of losing away games.
Southern lost 68-63, with Harrell scoring a total of 10 points and holding the game highs.
“We are on a winning streak and were expecting it to come easier,” Rzezsut said.
“We got slapped in the face.”
Not only did the women get a wake-up call, but on Feb. 10, the Lady Lions also had the toughest practice they have had all season.
“We will not have another practice like that,” Rzezsut said.
The Lady Lions plan to work hard in preparation for a trip to Emporia, Kan., to challenge the women of Emporia State University.
The Lady Lions hope to see as many fans at their next home game set on Feb. 22 against Truman State University.
Tip off is set for 1 p.m. at Leggett & Platt.
“It shouldn’t be just the PSU games,” said junior center Paige Christiansen. “It should be every game.”
Your donation will support the student journalists of Missouri Southern State University. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.
