KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Missouri Southern and Fort Hays State advance to the championship game of the 2022 MIAA Basketball Championship, presented by Citizens Bank & Trust.
Top-seeded Missouri Southern defeated No.5 seed Missouri Western and the No.2 seed Fort Hays State knocked out No.3 seed Nebraska Kearney. The Lions and Tigers will compete for the MIAA Championship title on Sunday, March 6 at 1 p.m. in Municipal Auditorium. Below are game recaps from Saturday’s semifinals.
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No.1 Missouri Southern 65, No.5 Missouri Western 58 – Box Score
The No.1 seeded-Missouri Southern Lions defeated the No.5 seeded-Missouri Western Griffons in the semifinals of the 2022 MIAA Women's Basketball Championship presented by Citizens Bank & Trust.
Missouri Southern finished with 35.4 percent (23-65) shooting from the floor while hitting 32.0 percent (8-25) from the three-point range and 64.7 percent (11-17) from the free-throw line. The Griffons shot a game-high 47.8 percent (22-46) from the field, 35.7 percent (5-14) from behind the arc and 75.0 percent (9-12) from the line.
The Lions were led by the 2022 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, Lacy Stokes. Stokes hit 12-of-30 overall while knocking down 3-of-8 threes with a 5-of-7 finish at the line to finish with a game-high 32 points. Her 32 points is the seventh-highest single game point total in MIAA Tournament history. Stokes also tailed a team-high seven rebounds and four assists. Also scoring in double-figures was Layne Skiles with 13. Skiles also led the Lions with four steals.
Missouri Western’s All-MIAA selections Corbyn Cunningham joined Jaelyn Haggard, Alyssa Bonilla and Mary Fultz with eight points each while Jordan Cunningham led the Griffon defense with a game-high nine rebounds. Cunningham and Bonilla also led the Griffs with four assists apiece. Missouri Western’s 15 points in the second half tied the MIAA Tournament record for fewest second-half points.
No.2 Fort Hays State 56, No.3 Nebraska Kearney 46 – Box Score
The No.2 seeded-Fort Hays State Tigers defeated No.3-seeded Nebraska Kearney Lopers in the semifinals of the 2022 MIAA Women's Basketball Championship presented by Citizens Bank & Trust.
Fort Hays State shot a game-high 40.9 percent (18-44) from the field, 44.4 percent (4-9) from the three and 72.7 percent (16-22) at the foul line while the Lopers hit 30.8 percent (16-52) overall, 20.0 percent (4-20) from the three and 83.3 percent (10-12) from the free-throw line.
Three Tigers finished in double-figure scoring led by All-MIAA selection Whitney Randall with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor while finishing 3-of-4 from the three-point range and the foul line. Lauren West and All-MIAA honoree Jaden Hobbs totaled 10 points apiece while another All-MIAA selection Katie Wagner led the Tigers defense with 11 rebounds.
The Lopers were led by Sarah Schmitt with eight points while All-MIAA selections Elisa Backes and Klarie Kirsch finished with seven points each and a team-high six boards apiece.