Ben Adamson (Missouri State Sports Information) DES MOINES, Iowa — Missouri State junior Liza Fruendt scored 46 points – the fifth best total in Lady Bears history – in a wild 98-91 loss to No. 22 Drake Thursday evening inside the Knapp Center.
Fruendt joined Lady Bear greats Jackie Stiles, Melody Howard, Tara Mitchem and Tyonna Snow as the only MSU players to score 40 or more in a game, shooting 17-for-31 overall, 6-for-16 from long range and 6-for-7 at the foul line. Her 17 field goals tied for third-most in school history, while her point total is also the fourth-highest in the NCAA this season and ninth-most in Missouri Valley Conference history.
Drake (24-4, 17-0) dealt the first blow of the game with a 12-2 start, and turned a 14-11 lead late in the first period into a 38-16 advantage with six minutes remaining until halftime. The Lady Bears (16-12, 12-5) responded with a furious rally, cutting the lead to single digits at 46-38 on a Danielle Gitzen trey 50 seconds before half, and pulling to 52-51 at the 7:27 mark of the third quarter, needing just more than seven minutes of game time to chop 21 points off DU’s 22-point margin.
The Bulldogs countered with a 7-0 run, and 3-pointers from Lexi Hughes and Fruendt twice pulled MSU within a possession before Drake’s Nicole Miller connected from distance on three consecutive possessions to make it 77-67 with 8:43 remaining.
Fruendt hit back-to-back treys for 77-73, and Drake extended the lead to 89-80 before a Hughes layup got MSU within a possession again at 90-87 with 1:43 left. Audrey Holt added a free throw to make it 90-88, and another Fruendt trey made it 94-91 with 35 seconds left before DU sealed it with four free throws.
Missouri State shot 51 percent overall and 10-of-23 from long range while taking the rebounding battle from the league’s top team in that category, 38-29. Holt grabbed 10 boards, and Hughes had five assists without a turnover. Drake shot 52 percent overall and 46 percent from beyond the arc.
The loss locks MSU into the No. 3 seed at next week’s MVC Tournament in Moline, Ill., with an 8:30 p.m. Friday, March 10 opener. The Lady Bears close the regular season at 8 p.m. Saturday at second-place UNI.
