Lovejoy garners regional honors

The Missouri Southern women’s basketball Lions might be through for the season, but the awards for one player keep coming.

Senior Jasmine Lovejoy was named to the second team of the All-South Central Regional team that was announced Wednesday.

Lovejoy was one out of just five MIAA players to be named to the All-Regional Team.  Lovejoy finished her career at Southern averaging 16.3 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game.

Alli Volkens, Emporia State, was voted the South Central Regional Player of the Year.

But the season ended early.

That is how the Lions felt last week after a disappointing 61-57 overtime loss to rival Pittsburg State in the opening round of the MIAA Championship tournament.

The Lions, who finished 17-10, 15-7 in the MIAA, were looking for a possible at-large berth into this weekend’s NCAA Division-II South Central Regional tournament with a win in the conference tournament, but the hopes were dashed in the extra frame of the loss.

The Lions put up a fight and were carried most of the way by Lovejoy’s 33 points.

“[Lovejoy] proved that if she wasn’t one of the best players in the league she might be the best,” Mitts said. “She was phenomenal and represented Missouri Southern well. I couldn’t be more proud of her. I don’t know if you ever replace Jasmine Lovejoy, both on and off the court she was somebody really special. She went out in very classy style.”

Even though the season came to an early end, Mitts knows this team was one of her favorites, and they helped take the women’s program another step.

“There are so many positives about this year,” she said. “We were picked sixth and finished third. We finished as high as any other Missouri Southern team has finished since the 90s.”