Missouri State forced 22 turnovers and allowed a JQH Arena record-low 15 points in the first half Sunday afternoon on the way to a 62-52 victory over UNI.
The Lady Bears improved to 7-8 overall and 3-1 in Valley play in head coach Kellie Harper‘s 50th MVC win in 76 league games, out-scoring the Panthers (6-9, 2-2) by a 24-6 margin in points off turnovers.
UNI committed 15 turnovers and shot 20 percent in the first half, while MSU senior Aubrey Buckley scored 6 points in the first 2:11 of the contest on the way to a game-high 13 points and a season-high 9 rebounds.
Alexa Willard converted a 3-point play for an 11-2 MSU lead at the 6:23 mark, and UNI connected on a 3-pointer 25 seconds later before going nearly 14 minutes without a field goal while the Lady Bears pushed the advantage to 24-7 on a Brice Calip free throw with 2:50 left until halftime.
The Panthers scored the final basket of the first half to make it 27-15, and extended the run to 12-0 less than three minutes into the third quarter for a 27-25 deficit. A UNI 3-pointer cut the Missouri State lead to 29-28, and the Lady Bears countered with a 9-0 run of their own, punctuated by a Willard trey with 3:53 on the clock.
Missouri State led by at least five points for the remainder of the game, pushing the lead to 50-37 with 6:42 left thanks to a steal and score by Danielle Gitzen followed by Buckley grabbing a rebound and going coast-to-coast for a traditional 3-point play.
Lee Ann Polowy‘s 3-pointer with 2:36 left made it 57-45, UNI sliced the lead to 57-50 just 43 seconds later, and MSU responded with five free throws down the stretch.
Gitzen finished with season highs of 7 rebounds and 5 steals, while she and Buckley each drew two of MSU’s five charges. The Lady Bears shot 37.5 percent compared to 35.1 for the Panthers, while UNI held a 40-39 lead in rebounding. Willard and Liza Fruendt each scored 10 points to give MSU four players in double figures.
The Lady Bears return to action Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. at Illinois State.
