Missouri State trailed in-state rival and 23rd-ranked Missouri by two points with less than eight minutes remaining, but the Tigers pulled away late for a 69-59 victory Sunday afternoon in front of 4,215 fans at JQH Arena.
The Lady Bears (1-2) quickly erased a five-point halftime deficit when Liza Fruendt buried the fourth of her five 3-pointers and Aubrey Buckley followed with an offensive board and score to make it 38-all just 41 seconds after the break. Audrey Holt hit a baseline jumper for 40-40 at the 8:44 mark, but the Tigers (3-1) countered with an 11-2 run to lead 51-42.
Missouri State closed to 53-50 on a Brice Calip trey with 1:49 left in the third and shot 50 percent in the period, but still trailed 56-52 entering the final quarter thanks in large part to the Tigers owning a 12-1 advantage in free throw attempts in the frame and 18-1 margin in the second half.
Fruendt’s transition layup with 7:16 left in the game pulled the Lady Bears to 58-56, but MSU went cold after that, missing six consecutive shots and going 3-for-17 from the floor in the final 10 minutes. Missouri scored eight points during the Lady Bears’ drought, putting the game away with a 66-56 lead and 2:35 to play.
A back-and-forth first quarter ended with the Tigers up 19-18, as the visitors shot 8-for-13 from the field and Fruendt countered with three triples on the way to a 29-point effort.
MU opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run, and Alexa Willard‘s three-point play with four minutes left pulled the Lady Bears to 30-29 before the Tigers pushed their lead back to 38-33 at intermission.
Missouri shot 53.2 percent in the game compared to .349 for the Lady Bears, though MSU hit eight triples compared to a 4-for-19 showing from MU. Missouri State scored 16 points off 14 offensive rebounds, and limited themselves to 10 turnovers in the contest.
The Lady Bears head to the Bahamas over Thanksgiving weekend, opening Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. against third-ranked Baylor. MSU will then play either Georgia Tech or Penn on Nov. 24 or 25 in Bimini.
