This weekend, Missouri Southern’s women’s basketball team looks to continue its success as the team faces Avila on Friday and Evangel on Saturday.

The Lions played well in their home opener last Saturday, recording a 99-83 win over Southwestern Oklahoma. The Lions took the lead early in the game and never looked back, going into the half up by seven. They would build on that lead in the second half with sophomore Sharese Jones leading the charge. Jones would finish the afternoon with 29 points and 15 rebounds.

 “Sharese has a lot of pride in the way she plays the game,” said Head Coach Ronda Hubbard. “She really did not perform well in our opener and no one was more upset with that more than her. I felt she was determined to get better last week and her preparation produced that result.”

The Lions will stay at home for the two games this weekend as they host the MSSU the Fairfield Inn/Pizza Hut Thanksgiving Classic, with a match-up against the Avila Eagles tonight before playing the Evangel Crusaders on Saturday.

The Eagles are 1-4 in the early season, but have played close games in a couple of their losses. They head to Southern fresh off of a 21-point win against Sterling College.

The Crusaders are 2-3 so far this year and are on the heels of a loss against John Brown.

The Lions hope to find consistency in their performance and dictate the pace of the game.

“We want to be a controlled up-tempo team without making senseless turnovers,” said Hubbard.  “We certainly do not want to walk the ball up the court, yet we cannot turn the ball over 20-plus times and expect to have great success. We are seeking a balance.”

UP NEXT 

Fairfield Inn/ Pizza Hut Classic

at Leggett & Platt

Today: 7 p.m. vs.

   Avila

Tomorrow: 3 p.m. vs.

  Evangel