COLUMBUS, Miss. – Mississippi University for Women women's basketball fell victim to second-half shooting woes as it lost a non-conference home contest to Millsaps College, 61-48, at Pohl Gym. The upset-minded Owls (1-2) were unable to maintain a two-point halftime lead (33-31) against the Majors (8-1), who won their eighth-consecutive game.
 
Tuesday's battle was a far cry from last year's Majors' drubbing over The W, 61-23 on the same floor, and showed what a vastly improved lineup is being fielded by the Owls in 2023-24 to even be in position for an upset bid.
   
The W trailed after the first quarter, 19-14. However, in the second quarter MUW flipped the script on Millsaps, outscoring the guests by a 19-12 margin and taking the halftime lead. The Owls shot better than 36 percent from the field in the first half, compared to 31 percent by the Majors.
 
In the final two quarters, however, Millsaps did nothing much different, hitting 33 percent from the field. But The W went flat from the floor by converting just 15.4 percent (4-26) of its attempts. With most of the other statistics being negligible – MUW made two more three-point baskets than Millsaps, but MC converted five more free throws – field goal shooting proved to be the barometer.
 
And the Majors found many of their points in the paint, where they held a sizeable 30-12 advantage. The Owls also were upside-down in points off turnovers, 13-5.
 
Junior transfer Claire Leak led The W with 14 points, hitting 4-of-10 from the field. Leak drained two three-point baskets and was 4-of-7 from the free throw stripe. She also topped the club with three assists and two steals, while hauling in five rebounds, as well.
 
Junior Conley Langford had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. Langford also dished off two assists and matched Leak with two steals.
 
Freshman Leileigh Moody chipped in nine points. Sophomore transfer Zoe Essary added eight points and five rebounds to the tally sheet for the Owls.
 
The W will next be in action on Thursday (Dec. 7) when it travels to Elsah, Ill., to face Principia College in the program's first-ever St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) game. Tipoff for the SLIAC opener will be at 5: 30 p.m.