Behind a season-high 31 points from senior Liza Fruendt and 50 percent shooting from 3-point land, the Missouri State Lady Bears picked up their second consecutive win Sunday afternoon with a 76-66 victory against Oral Roberts at JQH Arena.
Missouri State (3-6) led for all but 47 seconds in the final three quarters, and used a key 8-0 run around the final two periods to build a 63-53 lead that remained at seven points or more for the final eight minutes of the contest.
ORU (6-4) got off to a 7-for-8 shooting start to lead 16-8 just five minutes into the game, but the Lady Bears countered with a 13-0 run that included 3-pointers from Fruendt, Lee Ann Polowy and Elle Ruffridge for a 21-16 advantage. The Golden Eagles briefly led 24-23 early in the second period before Alexa Willardcapped an 8-2 run for a 31-26 lead with 5:07 to play.
Missouri State held the five-point margin to halftime, and ORU came out of the locker room with two quick baskets for a 38-all tie less than a minute into the second half. Fruendt answered with another of her four triples at the 8:23 mark, and the Lady Bears led the rest of the way.
A Golden Eagle 3-pointer sliced MSU’s lead to 55-53 late in the third quarter, and Polowy beat the buzzer with a trey of her own that was followed an Aubrey Buckley basket and Fruendt 3-pointer for 63-53 at the 8:06 mark.
The teams combined to score on their next nine possessions before MSU broke serve with an Oral Roberts turnover that led to an Abby Hipp bucket for 73-62 with 3:46 left. The Lady Bears then held ORU off the board each of the Golden Eagles’ next five possessions to put the game away.
Fruendt’s 11-for-21 shooting performance resulted in the second-highest scoring output of her career behind her 46-point game at Drake last season, while Willard (14) and Buckley (11) joined her in double figures and both shot at least 50 percent.
Four Lady Bears made multiple 3-pointers on the way to a 10-for-20 showing from bonus distance, and MSU owned a 34-25 rebounding lead. Danielle Gitzen handed out four of MSU’s 12 assists, and the Lady Bears limited themselves to 10 turnovers while forcing 15 ORU miscues.
MSU takes a week off for finals before hosting Northwestern on Dec. 16 at 2 p.m.
