The road to the MIAA postseason tournament in Kansas City just got a little bumpier for the Missouri Southern women’s basketball team, as they dropped a heartbreaking road loss at the hands of Southwest Baptist University on Jan. 28.  

The Lions played a hard-fought game in which every basket was earned and contested.

Like past games for the Lions, the game would come down to the wire with Southern having a chance to capture the win, but crucial turnovers in the final minutes proved to be too much for the Lions to overcome as they fell 61-59.

“We started making poor decisions around the four-minute mark left in the game that gave SBU the chance to get back in the game,” Head Coach MaryAnn Mitts said.

“When you travel on the road you must execute plays, and be able to close out close games.”

The Lions had a six-point lead with 1:18 left in the game, but a three pointer from SBU, followed by a layup cut the lions lead to one 59-58 with just 30 seconds left.

A costly turnover with under 30 seconds provided the opening the Bearcats needed to complete the comeback win.

“We just have to get back to work and use every minute of practice time to get better,” Mitts said.

Junior forward Erin Rice led the team in scoring with 22 points while dishing out three assists.

Teammates Haley Weathers and Shatara Stone contributed nine points each.

The Lions did manage to have a few bright spots that they can build on for their next game.

They shot 51 percent from the field, while also outscoring the Bearcats 40-24 in points in the paint.

“Our team needs to play 40 minutes of good ball,” Mitts said.

The Lions were back in action on the road Wednesday night Feb. 1 when they played Lincoln University.

The game was a low-scoring affair with the Lions clinging to a two-point lead at halftime. The second half proved to be a higher scoring one however, as Lincoln pulled out the 68-59 victory.

This time, the Lions were led in scoring by Weathers, who put up 19 points while adding three assist and bringing down four rebounds.

Rice was able to contribute 11 points, two assists and three rebounds.

Southern held the Blue Tigers to under 50 percent shooting, but the Lions themselves only shot 41 percent from the field.

Southern will be back in action at home tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. when they play host to Missouri Western State University.

The game is also the Lions’ annual breast cancer awareness game in which the crowd will be “pinked out.”