Henderson women suffer first loss at Missouri Southern

JOPLIN, Mo. — Henderson State got 20 from Pink Jones and an efficient 14 points from Brittany Branum on 6-for-9 shooting on Friday afternoon, but the Reddies fell on the road at Missouri Southern State, 79-69.

The Reddies (2-1) forced 18 turnovers and committed just 12 on the day, but struggled on the glass and were outrebounded, 42-31. The Lions (2-2) scored 19 second-chance points.

Henderson had a sluggish start to Friday afternoon’s contest as the Lions grabbed the game’s first five rebounds, and hit their first three attempts from 3-point range en route to a 13-4 run to start the game. The Reddies responded as a three-quarter court pass from Jones to Snowden led to a layup and jump-started a 13-0 Reddies run in which the Lions were held scoreless for more than three minutes.

The Reddies took a 17-13 lead during the run and finished the quarter ahead, 21-17. Jones had nine points of 4 of 5 shooting.

Henderson went without a field goal for the first five minutes of the second frame as Missouri Southern worked back into a 26-22 lead. The Lions outscored the Reddies, 20-8, in the second quarter as the visitors were held to

1-for-13 shooting in the quarter. Missouri Southern took a 37-29 lead into the halftime break and Henderson fell behind by double digits at 46-35 in the opening minutes of the second half. Jones and Branum pulled the Reddies back to within six points at 46-40 with

6:03 remaining in the quarter.

A physical layup by Karrington Whaley later cut the deficit to 53-49. Henderson got five points from Branum in the last 1:12 of the quarter and the Lions took a 60-54 lead into the final period.

Jones assisted on a Branum layup before hitting back-to-back shots in the paint to make the score 62-60 with less than eight minutes to play. Henderson then had its second dry spell of the game as the Reddies were held scoreless for more than four minutes.

Missouri Southern rebuilt the lead to 70-62 before a 5-0 run, highlighted by a Blu Jones

3-pointer, made it a one-possession game at 72-69. Henderson got no closer as the Lions pulled away for the win.

Henderson opened the season on Nov. 9 with a 96-83 win against Southwest Baptist (22), the host of the Southwest Baptist Classic tournament in Bolivar, Mo. The Jones sisters and Hailey Estes combined for 66 points. Estes led the way with 25 points and five rebounds.

Pink Jones had 23 points with five rebounds. Blu Jones had 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting, including 4-for-5 from

3-point.

Whaley notched a double-double with 12 points and

10 rebounds while tallying two steals and a blocked shot. Freshman Maci Mains scored seven points on 3-for-6 shooting, while Lani Snowden added six points on 2-for-3 shooting from beyond the 3-point line.

The Reddies secured a 2-0 start to the season with a 75-63 on the second day of the tournament against Sioux Falls (1-1).

Estes scored 21 points with 5-for-11 shooting on 3-pointers with six rebounds. Pink Jones added 20 points on 9 of 14 shooting.

Henderson will be on the road again Wednesday in Claremore, Okla., to take on Rogers State (1-2) at 2 p.m.