JOPLIN, Mo. -- Washburn got the first basket of the game but was unable to recapture the lead after that as they fell 66-51 to Missouri Southern on Wednesday evening. The Ichabods will finish up the regular season with senior night at home against Emporia State on Saturday at 1 p.m.  

The Lions (20-7, 16-5 MIAA) got out to a quick start leading 12-4 at the 3:49 mark of the first quarter. Aubree Dewey went on a personal 7-0 run for Washburn (12-15, 7-14 MIAA) over the next 1:06 of play to pull within one point after a 3-pointer. Over the final two minutes of play the Lions finished the quarter on a 4-0 run to lead 16-11.  

A 3-pointer by Gabi Giovannetti cut the lead to two points at the 7:46 mark in the second quarter. The next 11 points all came from the home team with Missouri Southern extending its lead up to 13 points as the quarter moved past the halfway point. The Lions shot 7-14 in the quarter and led 35-22 at halftime.  

Washburn stayed even with Missouri Southern for the entire third quarter, shooting 5-10 and getting to the line nine times in the quarter, but they were unable to cut into the lead. The score stayed between 11 and 15 points for the entire quarter with neither side scoring for the final 1:25 and MSSU led 52-38 going into the fourth quarter.  

Early in the fourth quarter the Lions pushed the lead up to 17. The Ichabods used a 7-2 run in the middle quarter, ending with a free throw from Madelyn Amekporfor to get the lead back down to 11 but that was as close as it got. Washburn didn't score in the final 4:28 of the game and Missouri Southern held on to win 66-51.  

The Ichabods shot 19-52 (36.5%) in the game and were just 3-17 from behind the arc. The Lions were 26-62 (41.9%) overall and made eight 3-pointers on 22 attempts. A 43-30 rebound advantage and eight blocks for MSSU to zero for Washburn created the most separation.  

Yiibari Nwidadah led the Ichabods in scoring with 14 points on 5-10 shooting in just 19 minutes. Aubree Dewey had 13 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds with three steals as well. Ten players cracked the scoring column for the Ichabods.  

Three from Missouri Southern finished in double figures led by Kryslyn Jones who had 19 points on 5-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Ryan Franklin had 18 points and eigh rebounds.