UNK WBB: Lions Win 8th Straight Game, 72-56

 The Missouri Southern State Lions pushed their win streak to eight in a row after sinking nine threes and having two big runs to down Nebraska Kearney, 72-56, Saturday afternoon in Missouri.

MSSU (11-4, 7-2), who won 29 games and reached the NCAA Central Regional final last year, will come to UNK (11-4, 5-4) on Feb. 22. The Lopers had won their last three games at the Legett & Platt Athletic Center.

A 13-0 Lions run erased a 6-5 deficit and gave them the lead for good. After hitting three early buckets, the Lopers finished the first quarter 1 of 12 from the field to be down 21-10. On Thursday, MSSU had a 20-0 first half run to beat No. 15 Fort Hays State, 67-58.  

"We won the second and third quarters, but they had that early run, and you can't let that happen," said UNK head coach Drew Johnson. "We cut to four and six a couple of times in the second half but couldn't quite get over the hump."

Getting another big game from veteran forward Kia Wilson (career-high 20 points), UNK hung around and then saw its bench erupt midway through the third quarter. A 10-0 spurt featured threes by Fremont sophomore Macy Bryant and Lincoln freshman Brinly Christensen and a paint bucket by South Dakota redshirt freshman Bailee Sobczak. That made it just a 47-42 deficit and then UNK got a defensive stop. However, a turnover followed and MSSU ended the afternoon on a 25-14 run.

"We battled and we're trying … we're working through trying to be a little more consistent," said Johnson. "They had a couple of 8-0 or 10-0 runs in the second half and I'll have to watch the film to totally understand how or why that happened."

Wilson (St. George, Kan.) reached her game-high total by making 9 of 14 shots and sinking both of her free throw attempts. She also had seven rebounds (three offensive) in nearly 30 minutes of work. Next, veteran post Shiloh McCool (Pleasant Hill, Ia.) had 13 points, seven rebounds (six defensive) and two assists with seven others reaching the scoring column. Finally, point guard Jillian Aschoff (Lincoln Pius) had eight assists and four rebounds.

"Kia was good and I can't say enough positive things about the way she's playing right now," said Johnson. "She scored against good, solid post players today."

A balanced MSSU attack was led by senior guard Kryslyn Jones (14 points, three assists) and 6-3 freshman reserve post Ryan Franklin (14 points, three boards, two blocks). The Lions bench produced 29 points with Jones going 4 of 5 from downtown. The nine made threes are one off their season-high total. Finally, MSSU had 12 second chance points to just one for UNK.

"We'll have to continue to get better than (making shots close to the rim). I feel that's a mental toughness thing," said Johnson. "We've got to make those plays. If we do, instead of 21-10 at the end of the first, it's 21-16 or 21-18 and then when you make that second half run, you're tied at the end of three."

UNK host Hays (13-3, 7-3) next Saturday at the Health & Sports Center. They blasted 20th-ranked Pitt State today, 68-53.