If the Missouri Southern women’s basketball team was ever going to make a move in the MIAA standings, an eight-day stretch that started this week will be the key.

The Lions have made a good start.

Southern upped its record to 17-5 and 11-4 in conference play with a 58-55 win at Pittsburg State University Wednesday.

The win helped ease a position the team found itself in after a tough loss to Missouri Western last Saturday snapped a seven-game winning streak.

“The loss put us more in a corner, we have three games that we control our own destiny,” said Women’s Head Coach Maryann Mitts. “We are going three games head-to-head against the teams above us in the rankings.”

The key stretch continues with a home game tomorrow against No. 8-ranked Emporia State, followed by a road game Feb. 19 against No. 9-ranked Washburn.

ESU sports a 20-3 record, including a 14-2 mark in the MIAA. The Lady Hornets were No. 4 last year, but lost to Nebraska-Omaha.

The first meeting of the season, in Emporia, Kan., saw MSSU fall 83-70. At the time, ESU was ranked No. 10 in the country and the Lady Hornets rallied from a 30-27 halftime deficit.

The Lady Hornets have four players scoring in double figures on the season, meaning the Southern defense will have to be sound and keep the opposition’s many weapons in check.

Cassandra Boston, a 5-foot-6 guard, scores 15.7 points per game and dishes out more than 4 assists per game. Ida Edwards, a 6-0 forward, and Andrea Leiker, a 5-6 guard, both average 13.8 points per game. Edwards has made 102 3-pointers this year, while Leiker is a 38 percent shooter from beyond the arc. Finally, Sophia Lenard, a 5-9 guard, is scoring 11.5 p.p.g.

“We have been able to knock off the two big teams (Washburn, Emporia State) in past year,” Mitts said. “And if we want to do what we want to do, we have to situation ourselves by beating one of the big two and no better place than at home.”

Then, Southern turns its attention to its third Kansas school in Washburn and playing Feb. 19 at Lee Arena.

The Lady Blues are 20-3 mark and 13-3 in league play and have won five straight.

One of the team’s three league losses came to Southern, a 59-58 loss on Jan. 10. Washburn is tough at home, sporting a 12-1 record this year.

Sparking the Lady Blues has been McDonald’s All-American Janice Bright. The 5-9 guard from Los Angeles is scoring 18.3 points per game and has led her team in scoring in 17 of 22 games, including a streak of 16 straight games.

Helping her on the offensive side has been Texas Tech transfer Stanceia Graham, a 6-1 forward, who scores 9.8 points per game.