Spurred by an upset win over No. 3 ranked Washburn, the Missouri Southern women’s basketball team is on a three-game winning streak heading into a pair of games this week.

The Lions beat Northwest on Wednesday 64-47.

Senior Myosha Barnes led the Lions with a total of 19 points. and senior India Wood chipped in 15.

The Lions have won six of their last eight games and sport a 13-4 record. The team has a conference record of 7-3.

Southern is coming off one of its best performances this season, a commanding 72-40 victory over Nebraska-Omaha. In that game, MSSU hit 13 three pointers, including an impressive 53.3 percent in the second half.

“It was a well-rounded performance,” said Mitts. “I thought we played 40 minutes of pretty good basketball. We were consistent on both ends of the floor. We knew Omaha was late in the league in defending 3-pointers so we were prepared to shoot.”

The game was a relatively close win, 30-21, at halftime, but the MSSU defense shut down the Lady Mavericks, holding them to only 19 points in the second half.

“We were trying to get back our defense to a typical Missouri Southern defense that we have played in the past,” Mitts said. “I think it was back against Pittsburg State or Emporia State, we were giving up way too many points, about 75 or 80. We were scoring in the high 60s and 70s and losing. So we put an emphasis on putting pressure on the ball and making them take tough shots.”

The Lions will look to build on their winning streak when the team takes on Truman State.

MSSU then plays Truman State Saturday at home and in doing so will be playing, statistically, one of the worst teams in the MIAA. The Lady Bulldogs, under the guidance of first year coach Michael Smith, are 4-12 overall and 1-8 in the MIAA, tied for last with Missouri Western.

The lone conference win for Truman State came Jan. 10 against Northwest Missouri State, 72-68, in overtime at home.

Truman State, like Northwest Missouri, has three players scoring in double figures, led by Georgia Mueller, who is scoring at a 16.3 points per game clip. Malorie Kiecker and Laura Joy both score around 10 points a game.

“I think we have enough experience from a year ago to understand in the MIAA you can’t look past anyone,” said Mitts. “If you have a bad night in the MIAA, you will lose. I don’t anticipate this team will overlook Truman.”