RUSTON, La. — The Missouri State Lady Bears went on an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to rally for a 63-59 victory in the first round of the WNIT Thursday evening at Thomas Assembly Center, handing host Louisiana Tech its first home postseason loss in the school’s storied history of 41 such games.
Missouri State advanced to a second round match-up at TCU, slated for a noon Saturday start in Fort Worth.
The Lady Bears (21-11) used an 8-0 run around halftime to build a 27-18 lead with 8:29 left in the third quarter before both offenses began to pick up the pace after a sluggish first 20 minutes.
Louisiana Tech (19-12) twice got within three points in the third period and MSU led 42-38 with 10 minutes to play before the Lady Techsters tied it at 42-all early in the fourth period.
The home team scored five quick points for a 49-45 lead with 6:20 left, and used another 5-0 run to lead 56-51 at the 4:10 mark after the Lady Bears tied the score twice.
Missouri State took over from there, with Danielle Gitzen, Alexa Willard, Brice Calip and Aubrey Buckley combining for an 11-0 run that ended on a Gitzen free throw for a 62-56 lead with 29.6 seconds left.
LA Tech hit a deep 3-pointer four seconds later and got the ball back after a five-second call, only to see Gitzen intercept a pass, get fouled and hit another foul shot with 17.2 seconds left for a 63-59 lead. MSU’s defense held on the final possession, limiting LT to 37 percent shooting in the game and forcing 21 turnovers.
Calip matched a career high with 16 points on 10-of-14 at the foul line, adding four rebounds and four assists. Gitzen added 15 points and six boards, and Buckley had 11 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double, and tied a career high with five steals.
Missouri State also shot 37 percent in the game, but won the rebounding battle 45-41 and went 17-for-24 at the charity stripe.
